


A bullet with your name on it!

by Cevlar226



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Eventual Relationships, F/F, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Help, Hitman AU, I Tried, I'm Bad At Tagging, If you're in this be in it for the long haul folks, M/M, Other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:33:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 72,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28241712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cevlar226/pseuds/Cevlar226
Summary: Luz Noceda, University student, Obnoxious 20-year-old, and of course part time assassin! Set in a world shared between humans and witches, Luz finds herself as an aspiring assassin working in the sprawling metropolis of Bonesborough. Will she be able to balance her double life as both a student at the most prestigious university in the city, while also working as one of the cities most feared assassins at night? Let's find out!This story is based on the Hitman AU that doesn't seem quite as popular as some other AU's, I thought I'd try my hand at finally writing fanfic myself, hope you enjoy it!
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Boscha/Willow Park, Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda, Edric Blight/Jerbo, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 101
Kudos: 256





	1. Meeting the family!

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so, as I said, this is my first ever attempt at a story on this site, I've read quite a few and opted to start with a less common AU for my first attempt. If this first chapter is well received I'll start trying to release chapters weekly, but please let me know if there's anything I should change!
> 
> But of course, credit where credit is due! The Owl house setting for this AU was inspired by another Hitman AU that I'm reading, and I really hope they don't mind me taking some inspiration! It was written by FenrirFox, and you can find his version here:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754819/chapters/67937863

_The Boiling Isles, a large island landmass situated in the Pacific Ocean off the western coast of the United States and the native home of the powerful and dangerous Witch race. It is on this island that witches have lived in isolation for many centuries, and was not until the 21 st century that the country decided to open its borders to the world, allowing for humans to visit and perhaps even live in the country alongside witches, a bold and rather surprising decision considering that most humans greatly fear what witches are capable of. It has been 20 years since the borders were opened, and while there are still next to no humans actively living on the isles, mostly due to its rather dangerous fauna, the isles are proving themselves to be a hotspot for crime and gang warfare as criminals from both japan and America use the neutral ground as a go-between for their business._

_The island is governed by Emperor Belos, the self-declared most powerful witch in all the world, and his ‘Emperors Coven’ that acts as the law enforcement and army of the isles. Their reign in the eyes of many is tyrannical, but that is a story for another day, as our journey begins in Bonesborough, the capital city of the Boiling Isles. Bonesborough is a sprawling metropolis similar in size to Los Angles in the USA, a veritable jungle of concrete that sprawls for miles in all directions with its skyscrapers towering above the bustle of people below. Towards the edge of the city though, is a much less grand building, a small café fondly named the ‘Owl House’ which is home to a rather odd gathering of individuals…_

**Luz pov:**

Luz’s eyes flickered open as the first rays of light snook their way through her curtains, lighting up her small dusty room. She glanced at her alarm clock, _5:58 am_ , and sighed. She hated getting up this early, but in return for her cozy little room, Luz had promised Eda that she would help get the café prepped for opening every morning before going about her day. With a yawn, Luz slowly dragged herself out of bed and over to her dresser, looking herself over in the mirror. She had let her hair grow out from her younger years with most of it reaching down to her shoulders save for 2 longer strands near the front that went down further than the rest. Her eyes were a dirty golden brown, a gift from her father so she was told, and honestly, of all her features she was quite fond of her eye color, it was unique in its own strange little way, something she appreciated!

Another yawn accompanied by a long stretch snapped her out of her weird little internal monologue and she moved over an old chair in the corner of the room where she had haphazardly tossed her clothes last night after work, and figuring they were _probably_ still ok to wear, put them on before leaving her room and stepping out into the hall. Her room was at the far end of the building, across from hers was the shared bathroom, then to the left was Eda’s room, across from that a living area with some seats and an old tv, then past them a door to the garage and a door to the store kitchen that in turn led to the storefront, and then right at the far end of the corridor was the last door that led to the basement. Luz made her way into the bathroom for a quick shower to wake her up, and then down the hall to the kitchen where Eda was already hard at work. As she entered, the old witch looked up at her and flashed her a toothy grin.

_“Morin’ kid, bout time you got your ass up to help!”_

Edalyn Clawthorne, the owl lady, witch mercenary, Luz’s mentor, and most importantly, the café owner. The owl lady was definitely what one would think of if imagining eccentricity personified. Her hair was wild and unkempt, stretching down to her thighs like an animal’s mane, something Luz had always found endearing about the women despite her otherwise rugged appearance. She was old but well built, and if it wasn’t for the grey hair most people would probably assume her to be a lot younger than she actually was. Her face and arms were littered with scars, though they all paled in comparison to the large and much _much_ more prominent scar that ran down the left-hand side of her face and across her eye, an eye that had long since stopped working Luz assumed due to the injury covering it, though Eda rarely spoke of it.

 _“Moringggg!”_ She spoke in a sing-song tone as she moved across the kitchen, grabbing an apron from the wall and putting it on. _“And what do you mean ‘about time’ I’m 2 whole minutes earlier than I’m supposed to be! Just cause you can operate on 4 hours of sleep a night doesn’t mean we’re all freaks you know!”_

 _“Pshh, you think I even need 4? You clearly don’t know me very well now do ya kid!”_ She laughed, giving Luz a small nudge with her elbow. _“Anyway, before you do anything, I need ya to go and feed Owlbert, poor fella must be so hungry since ya kept him waiting for so long!”_

She gave a dramatic little feint, and Luz couldn’t help but laugh a little, shaking her head and moving through to the storefront with a small dead mouse Eda had already defrosted while she was showering, and a lump of dried meat. The storefront was pretty big considering that every other room in the building was as small as logistically possible, with dozens of tables set up for customers and large glass windows at the front of the store that let in the morning light in swathes. Already she could see people moving about outside, most of which were probably on their way to work not being lucky enough to live a whole 20 seconds away like Luz. She turned her attention over to the large cage in the corner of the room covered by a dusty sheet and made her way over weaving between the tables and chairs as she did so. As she reached the cage, she carefully removed the cover and was greeted with 2 big brown eyes blinking at her as the baby owl adjusted to the sudden light.

 _“Morning buddy! Ready for another tasty breakfast?”_ As she spoke, she opened the cage door and moved away, letting Owlbert make his way out and into the shop proper, answering Luz with an excited little hoot, flapping over to land on her shoulder and nuzzling into her cheek.

 _“I’ll take that as a yes then cutie-pie!”_ She giggled, lifting the mouse up for the small owl to grab, which he did so quickly before flying over to one of the many small perches that lined the roof of the café for him. It was thanks to that little guy, and the various owl themed decorations, that the café and been lovingly dubbed the ‘Owl House’ by the locals, a rather fitting name she had to admit. With Owlbert fed, Luz kicked one of the nearby chairs out slightly and sat down, bringing her fingers to her lips and giving a shrill whistle that echoed throughout the store. For a moment she waited, smiling at Eda’s little sigh from the other room before she heard it, the frantic bounding towards her, coming from further in the store. She waited, counting down from 5 on her hand, and holding the dried meat out from earlier once her countdown was about to run out. In a flash of black the meat was gone, and in its place on the floor a few feet away from Luz was a large black German shepherd with snow-white fur covering his face in such a way it almost resembled a skull. Hell, when he was excited like he was right now, his ears perked up and Luz thought they almost resembled tiny horns. This adorably massive bundle of fluff was King, an old military dog that Eda looked after, though now that he was ‘retired’ you could probably mistake him for an overgrown puppy. King had been wary of Luz when she had first arrived at the Owl house but warmed up to her quickly when she replaced Eda’s dry biscuits with larger and far more tasty slabs of meat. Since then the old dog had been as loyal to her as he was to Eda, if being won over by some meat could even be called loyalty that is…

 _“Aaaand good morning to you too king!”_ She got up and walked over, crouching down to pet him while he ate which he was more than happy to receive.

_“Luz stop spoiling that damn furball and get in here, you’re supposed to be helping me remember?”_

_“Coming Eda, hold on!”_

She pulled King close and planted a big kiss on his muzzle before standing back up and moving back towards the kitchen, using a hair tie wrapped around her wrist to pull her hair up into a temporary bun, not a style she liked but one Eda insisted she uses while working with the food, pretty ironic considering the women’s own hairstyle, but it was easier not to argue.

 _“Alright, alright here I am, what am I doing?”_ She asked as she entered the kitchen, looking around at the various uncooked pastries and undecorated cakes that lined the working tops.

_“Get started on those cakes will ya? Your hands are steadier than even mine these days”!_

Eda and Luz worked in comfortable silence for a while, the quiet music of the radio being the only noise that otherwise broke it. Luz had been living at the owl house for 6 years since she was 14 after her mother had asked Eda to look after her while went to school in the nearby city. Of course, her decision to let her daughter live far away wasn’t one made without conditions, specifically, Luz was required to attend and finish studying for her degree and her mother had spared no expense in paying for attendance to the one and only Hexside university, the most prominent school on the entirety of the isles. A school, Luz was assuming, was going to be full of pompous and snide jackasses with superiority complexes, the richest kids in the country, and even a few from abroad. Her mother had wanted Luz to have the best education possible so that she didn’t end up like her father, however in doing so put herself into a significant amount of debt that she had since been working to pay off, though with little success. Luz hated that, she hated that her mother was effectively a slave because she thought that Luz couldn’t look after herself, that she needed all the help imaginable to even have a shot at life… Obviously, that wasn’t how she thought, Luz knew that, but it still felt excessive sending her to the most expensive school she could find despite the danger it put her in. She loved her mother dearly, and it was because she loved her that she knew she had to help start paying off that debt that her mother had buried herself in, and with Eda’s help that was slowly becoming possible.

 _“Hey kid, once you’re done with the cakes you can go, I know you ain’t doing much today but I got matt coming in early anyway to help out! Now, you need to go get ready for school, you got those introductory lectures or something right?”_ Luz turned to face the women, who was leaning on the counter with arms crossed nodding her head back towards the living area.

_“Are you sure? I still have like an entire hour and I’m already up…”_

_“Yes, I’m sure”_ She chuckled, _“Now go on, you can stop and grab a bite to eat somewhere that you actually have to pay at instead of mooching off me again!”_

 _“That lazy bastard is willingly coming in earlier!? You sure you got the right guy there?”_ She laughed and undid the apron from around her neck, cracking her fingers as she moved through back into the hall and down to her room, King trotting along behind her. She kicked the door open with another yawn and made her way back to her dresser to check her clothes over in the mirror. She probably wouldn’t change even if they were a mess, the outfit she was wearing now was a personal favorite of hers and by titan, she was nothing if not stubborn. She reached the mirror and began fiddling with her hair, undoing the messy bun and brushing her hair back into its usual style as she inspected her clothing for any rogue icing that might have managed to worm its way past her apron. Her shirt was a simple white shirt with thin purple stripes that wrung around it, and with it were some tight black jeans with the bottom of each leg rolled up slightly exposing her ankles. Once she was happy with her hair she grabbed a simple red beanie off her dresser and pulled it on her head, taking a minute to adjust it so it sat comfortably, and then grabbed her jacket from a hook on the back of her door and slung it on over her shirt, a dirty green coat with numerous pockets and somehow even more tears. Honestly, she knew she should get rid of it, but it had been her fathers, and considering everything else the man owned was probably far too dangerous for her at the time, her mother had opted to let that be the thing Luz kept from his belongings in the attic at their old house. She took a second glance at her most common outfit and smiled, it wasn’t color-coordinated or even all that stylish, but it was _her_ style and she liked it. She snatched her phone from the dresser, alongside a small pouch she tied around her waist so that it was hidden behind her back, her backpack from next to the door, and her guitar case, slinging it over her shoulder as she headed down the hall to the garage.

Luz flicked the light on, and the exposed bulb flickered to life, lighting up the garage where Luz kept her bike, her pride and joy and one of the first things Luz had bought herself after arriving at the Owl house, even if she couldn’t even ride it yet. It was a pretty high-end bike, a rich purple with darker stripes accenting its style nicely. King sat in the doorway, watching Luz pull open the garage door as he gave a little whimper which caused Luz to look back at him with a smile.

 _“Oh, grow up, I’ll only be gone a few hours you big baby, then we can cuddle as much as you like ok!”_ She laughed as she watched his ears prick up at the mention of cuddles, though he didn’t move from his seated position at the door. She took her beanie off and replaced it with her helmet, a lilac purple color with 2 cat ears poking out the top of it which she thought was cute when Eda had given it to her, and climbed onto the bike. She revved the engine a few times just to annoy Eda a little and pulled out of the garage and onto the street, speeding up significantly once she was. Since she had so much spare time before her first lecture, she figured she’d have a drive around town and maybe even do a little scouting out for her job later, but first and foremost? Breakfast!

As she was absentmindedly pondering the several cafes and coffee shops she was passing, her Vizor was suddenly filled brown, blocking her vision as an obnoxious voice filled her ears

_“HOOOOOT, Good morning best friend, how are you today!”_

Luz damn near fell off her bike at the AI’s sudden appearance, swerving onto the pavement and hitting the brakes with a deafening screech, drawing the eyes of everyone nearby. Luz took a second to catch her breath before turning her attention back to the elongated owl head that grew across her vision and scowled.

_“What… the… FUCK HOOTY, I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING, YOU ALMOST GOT ME KILLED!?”_

_“HOOT, I just wanted to say good morning best friend, don’t have to be so ruuuuude!”_

_“Then say it when I first put on the Helmet for Titan’s sake! And do NOT block my vision like that as well, it’s like you want me to crash!”_ She sighed and watched the weird digital bird tube snake its way back to the edge of her visor with a disgruntled look on its face. The AI had been Eda’s creation, and while she couldn’t deny its usefulness the personality it had developed left a lot to be desired, especially when this thing was the closest thing Luz had to a partner in her part-time job. Annoyingly, Eda said she had to keep him around if she wanted her to stay as her mentor, and while she really hated the bird, if Eda wasn’t teaching her anymore her mother might drag her back to the states! She shuddered; she really couldn’t go back there again. With her vision now cleared she started back onto the main road, her little dance with death suddenly making her somewhat less inclined to stop and grab something to eat, maybe she’d just grab one of those crappy meals from the university? Luz was not looking forward to today, between the new school and her job later it was gonna be pretty stressful, she just hoped she didn’t stand out too much!


	2. A stressful and busy double life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the first chapter seemed well received which just warms my cold dead heart! Thanks for the Kudos guys it means the world to me ;)
> 
> And now we begin chapter 2, I'm releasing this the night before Christmas, you are all very welcome!

**Luz pov:**

She stood out too much.

Luz stood at the edge of the parking lot with her helmet in hand, looking out over the bustle of individuals that moved from building to building before her, each and everyone dressed in what Luz could only assume were designer clothes, all of which looked far nicer than her own. Already the people that passed by closest to her sent her second looks and murmurs which only added to Luz’s growing discomfort. But all was not lost, Luz was lucky that she already knew 2 of the people that were attending this university, her 2 closest friends that she had barely managed to survive college thanks to! Yes, she just had to find Willow and Gus, somewhere on this campus… This massive sprawling campus, filled with seemingly endless rich kids… This was going to be harder than she thought.

She took her phone from her pocket and started scrolling through her contacts, stopping on Willow and opening their messages.

_L: Hey, I just got here, where r u guys?_

_Sorry Luz, we’re running a little late, you know how gus can be :W  
when he gets into one of those dumb arguments with his dads!_

_I promise we’ll be there soon k? Just wait in the cafeteria if you can find it :W_

_L: Fine, just hurry up, I literally couldn’t  
Stand out more even if I tried!_

_L: And tell gus whatever the argument  
is, his dads are probably right, they  
almost always are anyway_

Luz smiled as she put away her phone, at least she had something to look for now! She turned her attention back to the sea of people before her and took a deep breath, adjusting her beanie slightly before beginning her search.

It took Luz about an hour to find the building she was looking for thanks to most of the students that she asked for directions from simply ignoring her like the stuck up little bastards they were, but she could look past them just ignoring her, as far as bad attitudes go that response is the one that usually leads to the fewest conflicts. The cafeteria itself was just as grand as the rest of the campus, with rows of tables housing inbuilt phone chargers, large hanging chandeliers, it was an oddly enchanting mix of modern and traditional architecture that Luz couldn’t help but admire as she entered. Turning her attention back to her rumbling stomach, she looked over to the kitchen and the small army of cooks that were serving the students and almost gagged at the prices for the food that was available. Seriously, anyone paying 80 snails for breakfast clearly has more money than they knew what to do with, and Luz was not one of those people as she instead turned her attention to one of the vending machines near the entrance, grabbing herself a chocolate bar and drink before sitting at the very end of one of the many rows of tables. She brought her phone back out and sent Willow a quick message explaining where she was, and in return got an eta of about 5 minutes which was fine with Luz who really just wanted to sit down for a minute after her scare on the bike this morning. She slung her guitar case off her shoulder and set it down resting against the table and then rested her bag beside it, slumping down into her cross arms as she waited for her friends. It wasn’t long before she felt someone tapping her on the head and already knew who it was without even looking.

 _“Good morning to you too Miss Parks, how wonderful that I should meet you here!”_ She put on an obnoxious British accent as she spoke.

 _“Good morning Luz”_ is the reply, along with a little giggle from Willow. Willow parks was Luz’s best friend, a witch, and one of the best plant mages she knew. She was one of the few people alongside Gus that knew about her situation, and her dads were old accomplices of Eda’s which was another surprise that they discovered on her first visit to the Owl house. She finally looked up and got a good look at Willows outfit, which like her was one of her usual’s. She wore a long yellow trench coat atop a warm dark green turtleneck and loose-fitting black plants, short black hair, and large circular glasses. It was a style that certainly stood out amongst the other students, somehow even more so than her own clothes, but if anyone cared it certainly wasn’t Willow. Gus on the other hand, was far more concerned with his appearances at the school, wearing much less eye-drawing clothing in the form of a simple ‘Hexside’ hoodie and jeans, though she couldn’t blame him since he stood out or different reasons. Unlike Willow and Luz, Gus had barely turned 18 and was entering the university a whole 2 years earlier than he should be which garnered him respect and disdain in equal measure. The two of them had gained entrance to the university through scholarships, Gus in illusory magic studies, and Willow in plant magic and herbalism studies, and Luz was proud of them both. They had worked extra hard to get into the university for Luz’s sake so that she wouldn’t be alone, and she loved them both for it. Luz herself was studying wild magic, an interesting choice of study for a human that couldn’t _technically_ cast any magic themselves, but even if she couldn’t participate in the practical side to it Luz enjoyed learning the history behind her mentor's magic style. Of course, there were other reasons she had taken the course too, but those weren’t important.

_“So, excited for your first day human? I don’t think we stand out too much now do we!”_

_“Honestly, I’m dreading it, at least this school is more accepting of humans than our last one, but I’ve been getting looks all morning…”_ She says with a sigh.

 _“You’ll be fine, if you can hand-“_ She stops speaking as her eyes land on Luz’s guitar case, narrowing,  
_“And why do you have that exactly?”_

_“Oh, I have a job later, it’s towards the center of the city so I’m gonna head there straight after the lectures!”_

_“Luz, you can’t just bring that to school are you dumb!?”_ She had lowered her voice to a whisper, grabbing me by the collar of the jacket

 _“Relax Willow, no one is gonna open it, it’s got a lock and everything you worry too much!”_ Luz tried to wave her friend's concerns off, after all, it wasn’t like people were just going to grab her guitar case and break it open to see what’s inside, though by the look on willows face you’d be forgiven for assuming that it was as common as saying hello. Willow glares at her for a few moments before relenting.

_“If you say so, but don’t come crying to hideout out at my house again if you get caught, you know what happens if you do…”_

_“I know, I know, really, but these lectures are scheduled for the next few hours, It doesn’t really leave me a lot of time in my day, especially when it takes like 20 minutes to get here!”_

_“Ok, I get it, just, be careful ok? If you made me attend this stuffy school just to get sent back home to the States I swear to god I’ll never forgive you”_

It was at this point Gus, who had been quietly listened to the conversation behind Willow spoke up

 _“Ya know, even if you do get sent back, I could probably just make a clone and send it in your place, right?”_ He gave a little smile and a much smaller example clone of Luz appeared on his palm, giving Luz a little wave and causing her to laugh.

 _“As much as I wish that would work, I think my mum would figure it out pretty quick. But hey, we can keep it as a backup plan I guess! Now, I think we all have lectures separately right?”_ She appreciated his offer, but there was no way a clone would trick her mum, and she knew deep down it was stupid to bring that with her, regardless of how much time it might save. She grabbed her case and bag once again, standing up alongside Willow and Gus and quickly finished her drink as she got handed a small map from Gus which she was more than relieved to receive.

 _“There, now that you have a map you should have no more problems getting around… right?”_ Luz did not however appreciate the questioning tone when it came to her ability to read a map.

 _“Yes Gus, I can read a map thank you very much! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lecture to get to”_ Luz turned on heel and began towards the exit, glaring back at her friends. She had barely made it 10 steps however before she managed to walk right into something, or someone. Luz was able to catch her footing, but her victim was not so lucky, stumbling backwards and falling to the floor with the distinct clatter of a tray making Luz quietly curse herself. Slowly, she glanced down at the girl on the floor hoping the damage wasn’t too bad and mentally slapped herself at the scene. The girl was covered head to toe with a less than flattering mix of what used to be her breakfast, staining her clothes and covering her bright red hair. The redhead looked up at Luz prepared herself for the shouting that she expected any second now but was surprised when the girl simply stood up and moved towards her. As she did so Luz got a better look at her, the girl was dressed in what _had_ been some extremely nice clothing, with her red hair tied up in a ponytail revealing a third eye in the center of her forehead. Behind her stood 3 other girls, a short dark-skinned white-haired girl, an equally dark-skinned dark-haired girl with glasses, and a taller dirt blonde short-haired girl.

 _“What the fuck human?!”_ The redhead was mere inches from Luz’s face at this point.

“ _Wow ok, chill out strawberry it was an accident!”_ Luz took a step back and raised her hands, however, the nickname may have been a poor choice as the girl’s face went as red as her hair.

 _“Strawb- My name is Boscha you round-eared freak, and you better learn it because we are going to be seeing a lot more of each other this year!”_ She had one hell of a malicious smirk on her face at this point, and Luz was about to speak up before she noticed that Boscha’s ‘round eared freak’ insult had drawn a lot more attention than she probably intended, and it didn’t take long for her to realize that either as dozens of humans in the room glared at her. She straightened herself out and turned away from Luz towards the girls behind her.

_“Whatever, just watch your back human cause I am not gonna let that little nickname of yours slide!”_

With her final declaration, Boscha stormed off, followed by her little entourage, and leaving Luz stood there slightly dumbfounded at the speed at which that whole encounter had devolved.

_“Huh… Well that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the year”_

She glanced back and caught a glimpse of Willow trying not to laugh as Gus pushed her away towards another exit and just shook her head. She could deal with ‘Boshca’ later, right now she had some lectures to attend.

Her day had otherwise been pretty uneventful, with Luz attending a number of introductory lectures for her subject in a number of different buildings. Why they didn’t just have them in one building she would never know, but regardless she was finished now and had managed to do so without running into the strawberry headed girl again. Now she was at her bike again, zipping up her jacket and starting the engine. She was tired from walking around all day taking notes, but her life was ever busy, and there was a party she was due to attend! Luz pulled out onto the main road, speaking up so Hooty could hear her,

_“Alright Hooty jobs starting! Get me directions the Savilla residential block and get me eyes inside that party!”_

_“Hooooot, sure thing beeest friend!”_

As the directions to the building flashed up on the side of Luz’s visor she reached down on her bike and tapped a glyph that had been etched into the metal near the bottom of the bike. The illusion glyph flared to life as the colour and shape of Luz’s bike began to change, turning from a soft purple to a shiny black in a matter of seconds as they drove. Once it had finished its alterations, she released a small latch near the front of the bike which opened a small compartment allowing a series of 8 tiny drones to buzz to life and leave the bike. 6 of the drones flew off immediately towards their target building, while the remaining 2 fell into line behind Luz who had started speeding up towards her own target.

It took almost 40 minutes for Luz to reach her destination, a massive modern residential building near the center of town which Luz, again, couldn’t help but be in awe at as she pulled into an alleyway down the side of the building. As she came to a stop she removed her helmet and pulled her hair to the side, revealing another illusion glyph tattooed onto the back of her neck. With a quick tap, Luz’s appearance began to shift as well, her hair growing shorter and becoming a dirty blonde as her eyes shifted to a shiny green colour. She removed her old jacket and shirt, swapping them out for a dark black thermal and combat jacket, stuffing the old clothes back into her backpack and leaving it hidden down by the bike. Leaving one of the 2 remaining drones to watch her bike for her Luz grabbed her guitar case and made her way to the edge of the residential building, glancing up at the towering structure before her. Reaching into the small pouch she had grabbed earlier that day, she withdrew a dozen or so playing cards on the backs of which Luz had drawn her glyphs.

Technically glyph magic was outlawed by Emperor Belos and being in possession of them was considered a grave offense, but Luz couldn’t just pass up how damn useful they were! She places one of the cards at her feet and taps it with her foot, steadying herself as a thin pillar of ice launches her upwards towards the roof of the building. As she’s about a quarter of the way the ice begins to slow down, and Luz is quick to place down another card atop the ice creating another pillar conjoining with the first. She repeats the process a few more times before her shaky little pillar manages to reach the top of the building, and just in time too, as the bottom pillar's magic finally gives way and the ice crumbles to dust, taking the other pillars with it. Now on the roof, Luz makes her way across to the other side of the building and allowing her Guitar case to slide off her shoulder as she laid it on the ground. She holds up her arm which now adorns a small smartwatch and presses down on the screen, a confirming _“Hoot!”_ ringing out as the lock on the guitar case came undone. Inside, fully assembled, sat Luz’s rifle, an Arctic Warfare Magnum rifle with a precision-guided scope. She carefully removed the rifle from the case and attached the bipod stand, resting it against the raised edge of the building as shouldered the rifle and took aim. Her target was a significant distance away, the son of a wealthy politician called Marcus Illusator who was hosting a party tonight for many other wealthy kids. The party was taking place in the penthouse floor in the hotel that his family was staying in which luckily for Luz had more windows than any house should ever need. The party was already in full swing by the time Luz had arrived and had dozens of guests already present, something she wasn’t a huge fan of considering just how difficult crowds made a clean kill. She adjusted her scope as she scanned the crowd of people present at the party, taking in the scene and smiling a little, she had always wanted to go to one of those fancy parties herself one day, to be all dressed up in super fancy clothing, not having to worry about money or debts or loan sharks, maybe one day she could invite her mother to a party like that, maybe.

Looking away from her scope she leaned over and dragged her guitar case round so that the lid was facing her, inlaid into it were several screens, one large and 7 smaller ones. One of the small screens showed her bike, another the door to the roof that was behind her, and the other 6 showing the party from varying angles, good, it seemed that Hooty’s friends had gotten in without any issues.

 _“Any luck Hooty? I’d rather not be sat out here all night ya know?”_ As she spoke she brought her scope back up to her eye and focused back on the party.

_“Hooooot! Don’t worry Luz, I can find him if you give me a snaaaaaack!”_

_“You don’t even eat you demented demon, just find our target and MAYBE I won’t have Eda reprogram you!”_

_“Okaaaaay, but we both know she won’t do that, I’m tooooo clever!”_

Annoyingly, that was true, she wasn’t exactly sure how but somehow her little AI helper had gained himself a slither of sentience during his time with Eda and now refused to let her access his coding. It was mildly annoying just how effective he could be when he wanted to, and while Luz hated to admit it these jobs would be far more difficult without his help so she bit her lip and stayed quiet, occasionally glancing at the screens as she waited. Eventually though a happy hoot from her case let her know that Hooty had found their target, and she was quick to zoom her scope in, cursing. The boy was surrounded by his friends, even if she could kill him now she couldn’t do so without risking hitting another kid, and while Luz didn’t mind killing she refused to kill anyone more than necessary. With a heavy sigh, something she seemed to be doing a lot today, she adjusted her seating to something a little cozier as she waited for her target to move into a more… ‘ideal’ position.

Luz yawned, it had been almost an hour since she arrived, and this damn kid hadn’t left his little posse since he showed up. He was surrounded by a group of about 8 men, a few of which had girls following them around making the situation even worse for Luz who was getting increasingly impatient. The drones in the party continued following the group around, keeping an eye on security as they went and making sure Luz always had eyes on her target even when she looked away from the scope. She was on the verge of falling asleep when the monitors beside her started to beep, and Luz snapped back into action, grabbing her rifle and finding the boy again. She watched as he motioned to his group towards the balcony, watching them nod and begin moving away as the boy moved outside. This was perfect! That kid had just sealed his fate and he didn’t even realize it, though before she could pull the trigger she hesitated. Not because she was suddenly having second thoughts, no, Luz hesitated because she watched the boy lock the balcony doors behind him. Curious, Luz quickly scanned the rest of the balcony and found only one other person out there, a pale witch girl with oddly enchanting mint green hair. Luz signaled for the drones to make their way outside as she watched the girl turn towards the guy who was making his way towards her. As he moved, Luz could see the look of disgust on the girls face very quickly turn to a look of fear as the boy pulled something from his coat, and while she couldn’t see his face or what he held Luz got a bad feeling in her stomach at the situation. The guy reached her and gently lifted his hand towards her face before suddenly grabbing her hair in a fist and swinging her around so that she pressed between him and the balcony. Now Luz could see both his face, twisted into what can only be described as an evil grin, and what he now held to her throat, a long and vicious-looking knife. The knot in her stomach only turned, and Luz felt anger well up within her, this guy was going to die, but he had just lost his clean death. She reached back to the case and removed a single bullet, holding it in her teeth as she quickly unloaded the magazine from her rifle and emptied the chamber. She took the bullet from her mouth and checked the butt of the casing, engraved into it a fire glyph, and then loaded it manually into the rifle before taking aim again. By now the boy's hands were moving across the girl’s body as he leaned his face in close to hers, but he was too close to the girl to risk shooting yet, she had to make him step back!

_“Hooty, get your friends to distract that guy, I need him to step back!”_

_“But Luuuuuuz, what if that girl sees them! She might eat my frieeeends!”_

_“DO. IT. NOW”_

Hooty didn’t reply, but Luz watched one of the cameras begin moving towards the couple, and through the scope she watched the boy begin furiously swatting at the air around him, even pulling the knife away as he stumbled back. Her finger slid across the trigger, gently squeezing down as she breathed out, almost, he was almost far enough back, just a little further…

Help came, however, in a rather unexpected form, as Luz watched the girl who had previously been held at knifepoint land a heavy shove into the guy's chest which sent him stumbling backwards. Yes, go cabbage top go! Luz couldn’t help but smile as she watched her stumble away from the boy, finally giving her the opening she needed.

 _“Heh, I hope you enjoy the fireworks Cabbage top!”_ She whispered as she pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pop goes the weasel!  
> So I kinda lied, We also get to 'meet' our dear amity today. I wonder what happened at that party, and what those 2 were talking about on the balcony? Well, aren't you guys lucky, cause the next chapter will be our first Amity pov! Woooooo


	3. A new perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm surprised that this is as popular as it is, a small part of me is hoping it can become one of the big AU stories alongside stories like the Moonlight Masquerade series which I loved!
> 
> Thanks so much for the comments and the Kudos, I really appreciate them, but now its time for cabbage top to make her grand appearance!

**Amity Pov:**

_Amity couldn’t help but watch in horror as the fire engulfed him, the bright flames casting a warm yet angry light across the darkened balcony. She couldn’t move, couldn’t help as the blaze devoured Liam as he screamed in agony, creating the visage of a grand owl spreading its wings! But, just as quickly as it had appeared it dissipated, his charred corpse now alone with her on the balcony. She sat there frozen with fear, waiting for the second shot…_

_\---------------------------------_

_Earlier that day!_

As the sun rose that morning the first building its warm light touched was that of the illustrious Blight manor, the massive 8 floor ‘home’ of the Blight family, though you would be forgiven for thinking it to be a fortress from a distance. Surrounded by a massive wall and patrolled by dozens of coven guards, the Blight manor was easily one of the most imposing facilities on the Boiling isles. It’s in this glorified prison on the 6th floor that Amity blight wakes up bright and early.

As she sat up in bed Amity looked towards her window, and with a small spell circle drawn had the curtains slide open to fully let the daylight in, basking in its warmth for a moment before hopping out of bed with a stretch. Today was her first day at Hexside university and she frankly she couldn’t wait for a good excuse to get out of this stifling house, she had been looking forward to this for months now. Amity had started her education at college after her mother had run out of time to spend homeschooling her and had been sent to study computer science at a private school in England. She had enjoyed her time there, however, the pressure to live up to the famous ‘Blight’ name as the family’s golden child was near soul-crushing. She hoped that now that she was taking a part in the family business, her parent's interest in her school career would drop somewhat and give her some freedom, maybe she could even make some actual friends besides the insufferable spoilt children her mother forced her to hang out with. Making her way into her closet, which was close to half the size of her bedroom, she stood in front of the massive mirror took a moment to check her hair over. It was mint green, not exactly a color she liked, but one her mother insists she has so that she could match with Edric and Emira, her older twin siblings. While she couldn’t control the color, however, that didn’t mean she couldn’t control the style, and in a super rebellious fashion she had let it grow out to the point were it could reasonably be considered a mane. Still, she liked it, even if it was a pain to wash and dry. She gave it a quick brush and started choosing her outfit. While she knew most of the kids would likely be wearing designer clothing and her mother would likely expect the same, a small part tugged at her to wear the far less fancy clothing that she preferred. She glanced over at the clothing in question, a simple plain pink sundress with white frills at the bottom which, when paired with some black leggings and her usual accessories looked pretty good! She had decided, she grabbed the dress and hung it by the mirror alongside the black leggings ready to wear after her shower, and then turned her attention to her jewelry which she honestly had far _far_ too much of considering that she almost never wore any of it. Ignoring the many jewels and shiny metals, she grabbed a simple black choker, a pair of plain black stud earrings, a hair tie, and a pair of black bracelets that had dull metal spikes poking outwards around them. Happy with her selection she set everything out ready to put on and made her way to the shower.

Amity stepped out of her room now washed and dressed as she tied a small portion of her hair into her signature little ponytail to help keep her fringe out of her eyes. The hallway was already full of maids going about their morning duty and as each one passed her they would give a small greeting which she returned in kind. Making her way downstairs and into the dining room, Amity was greeted by her breakfast and an otherwise empty room.

_“Just like usual…”_

It’s not that Amity hated being alone, more often than not she quite enjoyed it, but when she was alone almost all day every day even someone as isolated as her would start to miss the company. She still remembered the days her family would eat together like an _actual_ family, those were some of her fondest memories, but the moment her father's company had become the lead developers for military technology for the Emperor they had become impossibly busy, Titan she hadn’t even seen her father in months! Amity also worked for that company mind, helping in the robotics sector to develop and advance the AI the bots used, bots that aided the Imperial coven guards in their duties patrolling the isles. She sat down at the table and started eating with the food was good as always, it was made by professional chefs after all, and yet sat alone at the massive table it might as well of been a bowl of cold porridge for all she cared. She spent an hour or so eating as much as she could handle before finishing up and preparing to leave, grabbing her bag and heading to the door.

 _“Amity dear, I need to speak with you”_ The cold tone echoed throughout the room as amity froze in her tracks, slowly turning around to face her mother who had just entered from the other door.

_“Yes mother?”_

_“Mr. Illusators son is throwing a party this afternoon, I expect you to attend”_

Ah yes, Mr. Illusator, a corrupt politician and spokesperson for the Emperor that her family company donated significant amounts of money too as he continued his campaigns to increase military spending and loosen magic regulations throughout the boiling isles. But, it wasn’t the man himself that really bothered Amity, no it was son Liam who she had grown a burning hatred for. The boy had taken a liking to Amity after meeting her during a visit to their manor alongside his father, and ever since had been harassing Amity despite her best efforts to get him to leave her alone. To make matters worse, once her mother had heard about his interest from his father she had decided he was ‘suitable’ for her like she was some princess who couldn’t pick her own relationships.

_“Illusator… Mother, you know that I don’t like that boy, he’s been haras-“_

_“Amity, the boy is simply showing interest, and as Marcus’ son I expect you to be more open to a relationship with him, upsetting him would only look poorly on us would it not”_

Her tone left no room for debate, and despite the scowl that hung on her face, she knew she could not argue any longer.

_“Fine…”_

She turned to leave, opening the door but before she could shut it her mother spoke again.

_“And please do something about that appalling outfit, we buy you nice clothes for a reason dear”_

And then the door shut behind her as Amity took a deep breath. Recently her mother's controlling attitude was becoming too much for her to handle, despite her best efforts. It seemed like her expectations only grew each day, and as they did she only continued to lose more and more of her own freedom. She had already had her career decided for her, then her hair, and her education and friends, and now she was being pushed into a relationship she hated! She was losing control of her life and she hated it, but she had tried running away before and her father’s security had found her in less than a few hours. Granted, she had only been 12 at the time, but their efficiency had terrified Amity, and that was made even worse after her father assigned two of them to guard her like dogs until she left to go abroad. Maybe there was really nothing she could do… No. Amity was quick to push those thoughts down, she was going to escape this family one day, no matter what, because if Ed and Em could pull it off by titan so could she. But that plan was one for the future, right now she had some lectures to attend.

Amity’s day at Hexside had been bland at best, they were only introductory lectures of course, but even so with her own knowledge in programming, it felt like swapping from a full-length novel to a children's book. It had made the day drag out, and she had spent most of it attempting to ignore the ever more numerous messages she was receiving from Liam. She refused to acknowledge that boy, his initial attempt to befriend her only revealing his more misogynistic outlook on life after he had noted that she’d need ‘help’ running her father’s business, which did nothing more than tick her off. Still, recently his messages to her had been getting a little more… aggressive? She tried not to let it bother her, it's not like he’d actually try to do anything given who she was, but a small knot in her stomach was forming and she was finding it hard to ignore. Her mood had improved notably however later in the day after she had seen Boscha, one of her mother’s handpicked friends, come storming past her covered in food and water.

 _“What on titan happened to you?”_ Amity was trying hard not to laugh, she and Boscha barely tolerated each other and she knew if she laughed at her now then she’d be on her own at this party she was being forced to later that day.

 _“Some idiotic human freak whose eyes don’t fucking work that’s what!”_ She snapped. Boscha had never been the biggest fans of humans Amity had learned, something they didn’t share in common.

 _“Want me to help you clean up? I hope you didn’t attack them; I’d just hate to see you expelled already!”_ She tried to feign worry, though with little success

 _“Whatever Blight, I know you’re enjoying this, so yes you can help me clean up”_ Her tone held a venom in it that Amity was all to use to at this point, but just like she was stuck with Boscha, Boscha was also stuck with her, and they both had to deal with that. Silently thanking the clumsy human in the back of her mind, she got up to help Boscha clean herself up, she just hoped that her friend’s retaliation wasn’t too out of hand, she doubted whoever caused this really deserved it.

She spent the rest of the day hanging around with Boscha and her group, partly because she had nothing better to do and partly because if they did run into this mystery human again she might have to stop Boscha burning them to a crisp. It was Skara, the white-haired dark-skinned girl, who had explained the situation to Amity quietly, and she had to make a quick excuse after laughing out loud at the ‘Strawberry’ nickname. She knew at that point that Boscha was going to make the girl's life hell every time she saw her and while she was definitely sympathetic, she also couldn’t help but feel the girl had probably been asking for it. However, their group failed to run into the human again that day, and they spent the rest of it attending the odd lecture and sitting at some random café near the campus. Luckily for Amity, the rest of the girls were also attending this party that afternoon, so they decided they’d all meet up at Amity’s house later and travel together, which was fine with her. Her phone buzzed again, another message, the 8th one in the past 10 minutes, and the knot in her stomach tightened.

It was about 7 pm when the last of the girls finally showed up at the Blight manor, Skara running a little late as she had decided to completely change her outfit at the last second, and the group piled into the limousine parked just outside. It was the same car that drove Amity to and from school, and she had grown somewhat friendly with her driver, Thomas, over the years. As the group got into the car, she gave the directions to Thomas and before long they were off down the main roads towards the hotel that was hosting the Illusator’s party. While the others made idle chatter and helped themselves to the car’s complimentary drinks, Amity instead spent the car ride quietly staring out the window, wondering if she could just cancel on this whole thing as her phone continued to buzz with message after message. Honestly, she was already pretty uncomfortable, her new outfit being a tight fit white dress and some more… acceptable jewelry. The fact she was also exhausted didn’t help her mood either as she continued to watch the traffic. She watched a bike go speeding by, the rider hidden beneath a pretty cute purple helmet which she could swear had cat ears on it, wishing she could be that free, driving around whenever she saw fit, going wherever she liked! She dreamed of that freedom all the way to the party, at which point she was quite rudely dragged back to reality by the cold air that flooded the car when Boscha got out. Amity sighed as her phone buzzed again, preparing herself, tonight was going to be a long one.

After passing through security, Amity Boscha and the group headed up in an elevator to the penthouse, where the party was being held. As the doors opened, the group was greeted by a sprawling crowd, the party was already in full swing and Boscha wasted no time in dragging her group over to the alcohol. Amity looked about the room for Liam, hoping that if she saw him first she could avoid him, though between her and Boscha’s hair it was hard to miss them. She made note of the rows of security guards that lined the room, guards that only made her feel more caged in as she grabbed her own cup handed to her by Skara. They made some small talk and merged with another group of people they recognized shortly after. Surprisingly, Amity wasn’t having that bad of a time yet, even if she’d still rather be home studying. That changed within an instant however when the deep grating voice rang out behind her.

_“Amity! I can’t believe you came; you’ve just made my evening!”_

She took a deep breath, planted a forced smile on her face and turned around.

 _“Evening Mr. Illusator, and thank you for inviting me, this is a wonderful party you must be happy you had such a turnout”_ As she spoke she made note of the large group of boys that surrounded him, putting Boscha’s attempt at a following to shame.

 _“Oh please gorgeous, you can just call me Liam, I believe we are long past the formalities!”_ He moved quickly, and Amity found her hand in his before she could react, the knot in her stomach winding tighter and tighter. She watched the boy’s lips move slowly towards her hand, and every instinct was telling her to pull away, even if she knew her mother would reprimand her later for it. What she wasn’t expecting though was the flash of red that appeared between her and Liam, Boscha coming to her rescue.

 _“I am so sorry Liam, but our dear Amity here isn’t feeling too well today…”_ She grabbed Amity’s hand from his and held it in her own, a smirk on her face.

 _“…So perhaps for your own sake it would be best to refrain from being too intimate with miss Blight this afternoon, we wouldn’t want the birthday boy getting sick now would we?”_ Her tone was sweet, yet cold as she spoke, staring the boy down. Liam could only stare back, a scowl on his face.

 _“Very well, I shall speak to you later my love, enjoy the party, I’m sure you won’t regret coming!”_ After he spoke he turned back to his group, and they moved back into the crowd of people.

Amity had never been so thankful to Boscha in her life, she genuinely hadn’t expected that encounter to end so favorably, but she had expected Boscha’s help even less. As the pair watched the boy leave Amity released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and tried to speak, only finding her voice stuck in her throat.

_“Why would…”_

_“He was making you uncomfortable right? I may be a bitch, but I’m not a monster, stay with me and I won’t let him near ya ok?”_ Her tone was sincere, and Amity almost felt like hugging her right then but restrained herself.

_“Thank you”_

The rest of the party continued in a similar manner, Liam would try and approach her only for Boscha and her gang to block his approach and let Amity move away. She could tell he was growing impatient; he was staring at her across the room constantly, and she swore her phone hadn’t stopped buzzing in the past 30 minutes. Between the stress of avoiding Liam and the alcohol finally kicking in Amity could feel her head start to spin, she needed some fresh air. She told Boscha where she was going, the balcony at the end of the room, and headed over, Boscha promising to text her if she saw Liam heading her way. As she stepped out into the cool night air she took a deep breath, letting the cold fill her longs and breath some life back into her as she moved to the far end away from the windows and leaned against the railing, looking down to the streets below as the cars moved like ants. Reaching into her pocket she removed a pack of cigarettes, placing one in her mouth and lighting it with a small flame she produced at the end of her finger. Her mother demanded she stop smoking long ago, but she had kept the habit up as one of her few coping methods to deal with her life. Slowly, she fell deep into thought, considering a number of things from her family, to how her life might have been born to a normal family. She was so deep in thought, however, so used to ignoring it, that she didn’t feel her phone buzz in her pocket, that she didn’t register the sound of the balcony doors opening, or the sound of them locking behind her. She was only roused from her thoughts when Liam’s voice rang out across the empty space.

_“Why fancy meeting you here beautiful!”_

With another sigh, she let her cigarette drop down to the city below, turning around to face him, no longer hiding her clear disgust now that they were alone.

_“What do you want Liam, haven’t I made it clear enough that I don’t like you? I don’t care if you’re here to beg me or apologize or something, I won’t accept it, just go back to you-“_

Her voice was cut short as Liam pulled his hand from his pocket, in it now was a long nasty looking knife which he kept by his side as he walked towards her.

 _“Oh, my dear Amity, I think you misunderstand, see it’s me that had quite enough! I don’t know who you think you are ignoring me, but tonight is the last time, now behave yourself, I wouldn’t want to damage that pretty face of yours”_ His voice was toxic, filled with bitter resentment as finally reached her, carefully bringing his free hand up to her cheek before violently grabbing her hair and dragging her around.

 _“Now, I think I’m going to have a little fun with you tonight, I’ve been patient enough right?”_ His knife was pressed against her neck now, and Amity couldn’t move. Both her hands were free, she had her magic, titan she was an incredibly skilled witch at that but for some reason her body would not move. Her mind was screaming, racing with a thousand thoughts as she felt his hand on her thigh begin snaking up her body, stopping only once it reached her chest. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t focus, it was almost like the world itself was being drowned out, she wanted to run, to fight but couldn’t and she hated herself for it. Just as she was beginning to spiral, however, something caught her illuminated by the dim lights that lined the balcony, a small black thing that hovered in the air just a foot or so away, some kind of insect? No. It looked metallic, almost like a camera, was he recording this? Before she could even react though, the small black drone flew towards them with surprising speed, buzzing around Liam's face as he took his hand from her body and began swatting at the air.

_“What the fuck, why are there bloody bugs all the way up here?”_

He continued swatting, but the drone didn’t give up, continuing to buzz around his face getting closer and closer, forcing him to take a step back and remove the knife from her throat. Suddenly, Amity’s motor functions returned, and she wasted no time in shoving the boy back into the wall as she slid down, her legs finally giving out.

_“AGH, you little whore, how dare you!”_

He rubbed the back of his head and looked back at her, an almost crazed look in his eye as he brandished the knife and took a step forward. Amity could feel that fear returning.

 _“I am going to make sure you can never leave m-“_ He stopped speaking as his attention was drawn behind Amity, and she watched a look of terror wash over it. Amity was still frozen as she suddenly realized the balcony was growing brighter, and yet she couldn’t take her eyes off Liam. He took a step back, beginning to turn his body as if to run but it was too late.

Amity couldn’t help but watch in horror as the fire engulfed him, the bright flames casting a warm yet angry light across the darkened balcony. She couldn’t move, couldn’t help as the blaze devoured Liam as he screamed in agony, creating the visage of a grand owl spreading its wings! But, just as quickly as it had appeared it dissipated, his charred corpse now alone with her on the balcony. She sat there frozen with fear, waiting for the second shot… But it never came. Security was quick to break the locked door down and stampede out onto the balcony, most of which moved to secure Liam, or what was left of him, while a few quickly moved Amity inside. She didn’t know who that was, or if that bullet had been intended for her, but whatever the case may have been, they had saved her, and she was going to be eternally grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand done! 3 chapters down and titan knows how many more to go :)
> 
> I'm really enjoying writing this as we go, I can only hope you guys are enjoying reading it just as much.  
> I don't have an awful lot to say this time round, but from here on out you can expect pov changes within the chapters, lucky you!


	4. The Owl assassin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some pov swaps at long last, and some more heartfelt moments, or at least I tried to make them more heartfelt
> 
> This ones a little longer, I want the chapters to slowly increase in length as I write them, so you have that to look forward to

**Luz pov:**

Luz kicked open the door to the Owl house with bang startling Mattholomule, or Matt, who was busy wiping down the tables. He worked part-time at the Owl house at Eda’s request after he had become something of a regular about 2 years after Luz had first moved in. Honestly, she had no idea why he accepted Eda’s job offer, the dudes family were pretty well off so it wasn’t like he needed money, and to make it all the worse, he and luz _hated_ each other with a passion rarely found elsewhere. He wasn’t aware of Luz’s job, something she had to remind herself of regularly, and believed her late nights to be a part of her supposed job as a musician.

_“Oh great, it’s you…”_

_“Oh, shut it you little shit, I aren’t in the mood tonight!”_ She snapped back

She wasn’t lying, most nights she could handle Matt’s attitude or at least bare it, but tonight something about some entitled boy being snarky with her might just push her too far. Leaving her bike parked out front she moved behind the counter and grabbed one of the small cakes on display to snack on later. She heard Matt ‘tut’ in her direction but ignored him and walked through the kitchen into the hall, then down to the small living room that nestled across from Eda’s room. Entering the room, she could see Eda sat on the couch watching TV, on it is a news report on her work that afternoon. Eda saw her enter and greeted her with a smile, her signature golden tooth glinting in the light from the TV.

 _“Ah, there’s my little Owlet! Welcome back kiddo, glad to see you avoided the coven again tonight, you’re getting pretty good at that!”_ She chuckled

_“Well when they’re as useless as they are it’s not like its hard, though to their credit I was pretty far away from the target tonight, I’m impressed they managed to figure out where I shot from and get guards over there by the time I was leaving!”_

_“Don’t underestimate em kid, most of them are useless, but if you keep drawing attention eventually you’ll have some half-decent captains like my sister on ya back, and that’s when ya start having trouble”_

Lilith Clawthorne, Eda’s sister, was one of the Emperor covens ‘Specialists’, highly skilled witches, and sometimes humans, that acted as leaders and generals for his enforcers. Lilith herself was prominent among even them, however, publicly considered to be the Emperor's top enforcer, and the face of almost all propaganda that littered the city. Despite being sisters though, her and Eda rarely spoke, and even Luz had only met the woman once which was weird considered she might end up as her aunt someday.

_“I know I know, keep a low profile and don’t get yourself a title, cause that’s when they start hunting you, you’ve said… right?”_

Eda simply stared at her for a second with a deadpan look.

 _“Uh huh, I do say that, so with that knowledge in mind my little owlet, wanna explain that?”_ As she spoke she nodded her head towards the TV, and Luz finally took a second to look the report over. On the screen was a picture, seemingly from a building window close to the hotel where the party took place, of her assassination, specifically, of the large flaming owl caused by her incineration round that she could now tell was probably a tad bit larger than she had intended.

 _“Ah… that!”_ She struggled to find an excuse, but before she could speak, Eda unmuted the TV.

_“With tonight’s sorrowful death, the Emperor's coven has been able to identify that the bullet used in the attack tonight had homogeneous markings engraved on it, similar to several other recent assassinations that have taken place in the past 3 years. It is because of that that the inspectors in the Imperial coven were able to identify that several past cases, once thought to be the work of dozens of assassins, were in fact the work of one, one the online community has already dubbed the ‘Owl assassin’. Further reports show…”_

The TV’s sound was cut short again by Eda who glared at Luz with a raised eyebrow.

 _“What was it I told you about marking your ammunition kiddo? Ah, that’s right, DON’T DO IT! Damn kid, don’t get me wrong I like the name, but you really fucked up this time, now they’re gonna start taking notice of you, they have a pattern to follow… Maybe its best you lie low for a bit yeah?”_ She phrased it as a question, but Luz could tell that she probably wouldn’t be taking another job for a while.

 _“I-I’m sorry Eda! It’s just a bad habit, I don’t know why I do it! Well, I do, obviously, but it’s not like they’re stupid, they probably already knew It was the same person since I always use the same ammunition type anyway… I mean yeah sure, I could have probably avoided the owl thing drawing attention to me, but it's not like they weren’t gonna figure out I was one person eventually!”_ She pouted, she knew she had messed up, not that she regretted it, but Luz wasn’t a fan of being treated like an idiot by, well anyone really. She glanced back at Eda who just sighed, and slumped back into the couch, a hand resting on King's head who was laid beside her.

 _“I know kiddo, I know, it's just, your mum is trusting me to keep you safe yanno? I still remember when ya moved here and she threatened to dump my ass if you got so much as a scratch! She’s a scary woman, and I’m a freaking wild witch merc!”_ She awkwardly scratched her hair, taking a deep breath.

 _“Alright, look, I know you’re trying desperately to help ya mum pay off that stupid debt, so I won’t tell ya to stop ya work, but ya DO have to start taking some small jobs alright? I’d be in trouble if my free labour skipped town ya know!”_ She gave Luz a playful little nudge which caused her to laugh herself.

 _“But, if you are gonna keep working as a named assassin, we’re gonna have to step up your game a little…”_ She looked Luz up and down, shaking her head at the dirty thermals and torn combat jacket, _“Cause, errr, that? That probably ain’t gonna cut it anymore…”_

 _“Wha- I’ll have you know my clothes are perfect thank you very much, both effective_ and _cosy!”_ Luz mocked offence at her observation but knew that her clothes were pretty basic, especially considering her other gear.

_“Whatever ya say kiddo, now you just leave that to me and you go get some rest, you’ve been out the house basically all day now. I assume you’ve left ya bike out front again which I will deal with. Oh, and kiddo?”_

Luz had already pulled herself up and started towards the door, stopping at the question and looking back.

_“Congrats on ya 100 th kill! I doubt ya even realised, but I gotta say you’ve come along way since ya first job, I’m… I’m proud of ya!” _

Luz gave a warm smile in return.

_“Thanks, Eda”_

**Amity pov:**

By the time Amity had managed to get to bed that night she felt she must have been interviewed by every damn reporter on Isles. After the incident on the balcony, Edric had, as usual, overreacted and sent a dozen of the manor guards to go pick her and her friends up. Even with the guards helping though, trying to push her way through the sea of reporters and flashing cameras had been a near herculean task, and now she was exhausted. The armoured car that collected her had taken her friends to their respective homes before finally bringing Amity back, at which point she was fussed over intently by her siblings, checking her over for burns and wounds that didn’t exist. While she loved seeing them care for her everyone in a while, like everything else they did they tended to go a little overboard and for someone as naturally isolated as her it could be a little much to deal with. They had promised to leave her alone for a short time while she got changed and would come to check on her later. At least they could show _some_ restraint. Still, it was strange, Amity knew she should be terrified, traumatised even, she had watched a man burn to death in front of her after all, but she wasn’t. There was no fear to be found in fact, only relief, relief that she wouldn’t have to deal with that guy ever again, and an appreciation for her mysterious saviour, even if they were just after the money.

Collapsing into her bed Amity buried her face into her pillow. She already changed into a nightgown and had just been able to remove the worst of her makeup before the exhaustion of the afternoon came crashing down on her. Her legs were sore, her hair where she had been grabbed ached, and she swore she could still feel that damn knife at her throat. She was a whirl of emotions, but mostly she was just angry, angry that she had even needed to be saved, angry that despite that fact she was one of the most skilled witches on the isles she had still been completely helpless. She knew countless combat spells and could summon some of the most powerful abominations on the Isles second only perhaps to her father, and yet one little knife was enough to completely shut her brain down. Feeling her frustration build, she let a muffled scream be soaked into the pillow before sitting up.

 _“I know you said a ‘short while’ but its barely been 30 minutes guys…”_ She looked at her door, where Ed and Em were stood with worried looks and folded arms, mirroring each other’s movements.

 _“We know Mittens, but someone was killed less than a few feet from you…”_ Started Edric.

 _“… So you really can’t blame us for being worried yanno? We just want to make sure you’re ok, mentally as well as physically”_ Finished Emira. She moved from the doorway and into the room, taking a seat beside her.

 _“So, are you ok?”_ Her voice was filled with a sincerity that Amity couldn’t fight. In lew of caring parents, Ed and Em had been the ones to step up and take care of her, something she could never thank them enough for.

 _“Yes Em, I’m fine, really, a little shaken sure, but…”_ She hesitated on the next bit, not sure how it would affect the sibling's view of her, _“… You know he was harassing me, right? Is it bad I’m kinda relieved he’s gone?”_

Her question hung in the air for a while, the twins sharing a look before Edric came to sit down on her other side.

 _“I wouldn’t say its normal, so to speak…”_ That earned him a punch from Emira _“…Ow, but, as I was going to say if certain people let me finish, is that in this specific circumstance I’d say you were justified! Still, what were you even doing out on the balcony alone with him if you hate him so much?”_

While his question wasn’t exactly unwarranted, it still took amity by surprise as she reflexively froze up, something both the twins noticed. It was Edric who spoke up again first.

 _“What did he do to you?”_ There was still sympathy in his voice, but Amity could feel the anger slowly rising behind the words. Sometimes Ed was more intuitive than she gave him credit for.

 _“I… He… H-he threatened me”_ She finally managed to force out, _“With a knife, he said he was sick of waiting… He locked us out on the balcony together after I went out for some fresh air”_ She was quiet as she spoke, feeling the tension in the room grow. Emira, who had wrapped her arm around Amity’s shoulder when she first sat down, tightened her grip. She wasn’t nearly as vocal as Ed was, but Amity knew that she could be just as dangerous when she got mad.

 _“He did WHAT?”_ Once again it was Ed who broke the silence, his voice echoing throughout the room and causing Amity to flinch.

 _“That weasel-faced little rat bastard, he’s fucking lucky the Owl assassin killed him first or I’d make his fucking life a misery”_ That caught Amity’s attention.

_“The Owl assassin?”_

_“Yeah, that’s the title they’ve given to the assassin after tonight’s show…”_ Responded Emira, her voice lined with the same anger as Ed’s though far calmer in comparison as she answered her question.

_“Why owl… Actually, you what that’s a stupid question given the giant burning owl and all”_

_“Yup, can’t say I’ve ever felt the need to thank an assassin before, but I suppose that little birdy saved our baby sister from a nasty night. I suppose she’s earned a favour from us, yanno in the very unlikely chance we might ever meet!”_

_“Hey, who knows, maybe we already know the assassin!”_ Ed piped up, instantly switching his tone back from his angry rambling just moments earlier.

_“I very much doubt it Ed, those kinda people have to be pretty desperate to chase that line of work, it’s not one that the kinda people we hang out with would go for is it, try using that non-existent brain of yours!”_

_“Hey! I have a brain, and you don’t know who I’m friends with, I’ll have you know I’m already… good friends, yeah good friends, with one of those less economically inclined folks!”_ For some reason, even though it wasn’t all that funny, that was enough to break Amity, who burst out laughing. Perhaps it was just the stress of the afternoon finally leaving her, but for just a moment Amity couldn’t help but be comforted by the familiarity that was her Siblings idiotic bickering.

 _“L… Less economically inclined? That’s what we’re going with? Really?”_ She wheezed.

Her sudden outburst drew the attention of both her siblings, who seemed surprised that _that_ was what managed to make her laugh. Though it seemed neither of them were going to question it, and Ed sat back down beside her as they both wrapped Amity in a tight hug.

_“Yup, it’s a new age Mittens, we gotta be considerate now!”_

_“He’s right, though I still don’t believe that he managed to make a real friend besides us!”_

She finally stopped laughing, wiping away a tear and taking a breath.

 _“Alright alright, thanks guys, really, but I am tired. Between the whole situation tonight and the alcohol, I’m literally about to pass out, so if you wouldn’t mind?”_ She nods towards the door.

 _“Yes ma’am!”_ They said in unison as they stood up and moved towards the door.

_“And if I wake up to find drawings on my face, you are both going to begging to be the Owl assassins next targets after what I’ll do to you, got it?”_

Reaching the door, they both turned on heel and gave Amity a mirrored salute, their smiles saying anything other than that they’d do as they were told before the door shut behind them. Now alone, Amity lay back in her bed with a sigh and with a quick spell summoned her scroll to her hand. She sent Boscha a message asking if she was alright after tonight and if she wanted to go for a walk around town tomorrow. She was quick to get a response, Boscha’s usual _“Yes but only cause *insert excuse here*”_ response. Once that was done, she tabbed over to the internet and typed ‘Owl assassin’ into the search bar, clicking on the first link she saw. It was something like a fan page of sorts, at the centre of which was a high-resolution image of the burning owl, which looked to have been taken from somewhere down below the hotel. Off to the side was a small image of her, one of her little stock photos used by her parents for several reasons, though she was far younger in the picture. Scrolling down, the site explained a number of recent assassination cases and how they linked together, the most damning evidence of which being the owl-faced carved into the bullet casings, information only recently released to the public. She scrolled through the list of cases believed to be tied to the assassin and even recognised a few of the targets as she did, recounting how scared she had been at some of them. The earliest recorded case she saw was dated almost 4 years ago, meaning this person had been at this a while.

Putting her phone down, Amity let her imagination run wild a little bit, imagining a gruff older man with stubble, cigar in his mouth and old hunting rifle in his hands. Then she imagined her as an older woman, one of those sexy spies she saw in the older spy movies. As her mind created version after version of the assassin in her, she could feel herself slowly slipping into sleep, and eventually, she was out cold.

**Luz pov:**

_Crash!_

For the 8th time that morning, Luz found herself on her back staring up at her mentor. Eda had gotten her up even earlier than usual for some morning sparring, something she was liable to spring on Luz with almost no warning. King sat in the corner, with Owlbert sat comfortably on his head, the pair watching Luz get her ass beat repeatedly with no sympathy.

 _“And that 5 to me, 0 to you kiddo, ya really gotta step up your game if you wanna get to your lectures on time”_ She smirked

 _“Well if a crazy old woman didn’t keep demanding I fight her at 5 in the morning maybe I would get to them on time!”_ Luz snapped back.

Eda only laughed as Luz dragged herself to her feet. She was covered in sweat and out of breath as she slowly raised her fists. Luz was no pushover when it came to hand to hand combat, it just so happened that of the 3 people she sparred with, Willow and Eda were monsters. Luz cracked her neck and tried to stop her head spinning, taking in a few more gulps of air before darting forward. She started the next bout with 3 rapid punches at Eda’s head, which the grizzly women easily blocked, before spinning on her heel to throw a kick into her ribs. It landed, but Eda wasn’t someone so easily beaten, and as she barely moved from the strike grabbed Luz’s leg with both her hands and swung her around, throwing her across the room. She was able to catch herself with her hands, doing a little flip as she landed on her feet. She didn’t have time to be proud of her recovery though, because as she raised her head the only thing she saw was Eda’s fist flying towards it which she was barely able to dodge by yanking her head to the side.

 _“Careful there kid, I’m catching up again!”_ Eda mocked her.

Luz tried to retaliate, throwing out a dozen more punches, each one missing its intended target as Eda blocked and dodged, the sound of her feet squeaking against the mats as did so filling Luz’s ears. She had her on the backpedal, and Luz only continued her assault, throwing in a few kicks for good measure as she pressed Eda back into a corner. She had, she almost had her, until… _Crack_ , as Luz’s foot slid slightly on the sweat-soaked mat her barrage slowed for just an instant, and Eda was quick to capitalise on it, spinning with terrifying speed as her heel smacked against Luz’s jaw and sent her sprawling to the ground. She could taste the blood in her mouth as stumble to the edge of the arena, her head now pounding against her skull. Then she had an idea.

_“What did I tell you kid, be patient, berating your opponents has it’s advantages but if you still haven’t broken their defence after that long you probably ain’t gonna…”_

She heard Eda approaching, probably aiming to finish the fight, and Luz turned to face her, raising her hands defensively as Eda’s own flurry of attacks beat down on her. She just had to be patient, waiting carefully as focused all her attention on watching Eda’s fists, before finally, just as Luz’s body felt ready to give out, she saw her opportunity. Eda moved closer, aiming to knee Luz in the stomach, but with all her energy pushing her she was faster, carefully side stepping the attack with more grace than Eda probably expected, and with her left leg gave Eda’s standing leg a light tap. Not enough to hurt, but in such a spot that forced the wild witches leg to bend as she fell backwards. Luz didn’t slow down though, waiting for a second as she fell backwards until she was in just the right spot, landing a powerful kick into her ribs and sending her tumbling to the ground. Eda managed to catch herself on her hands and knees, and looked over at Luz, breathing just as heavily as she was, before moving one hand to tenderly tap her ribs and wincing.

_“Damn… kid… I think… you mighta… broke something… impressive!”_

Luz couldn’t even respond, simply collapsing backwards with a _splat_ which her cringe a little. The pair were in the shop’s basements, a retrofitted training ground for Eda to train Luz in. It held almost all the equipment you’d find in a standard gym, but with a few notable exceptions. First off, the centre of the room was home to a large arena, similar to a boxing ring in size though without the wire barriers at the edge. The far end wall of the room held an assortment of weapons of varying sizes, everything from knives and pistols to combat rifles, Eda had amassed quite an impressive collection over her career as a mercenary, and was the original home of Luz’s own rifle, though she had modified it extensively. Finally, there was a makeshift shooting range on the conjoining wall, only large enough for one user at a time, but good enough for Luz. The room was also lined with a number of noise suppression pads and glyphs, meaning any noise was basically unnoticeable up above, which helped when Matt was around.

As Luz took some time to let her head recover, Eda sat up and drew a small circle, aiming the magic at the growing bruise on her chest. The wound slowly dissipated, and Luz carefully copied her, taking some now slightly soggy pieces of paper from a pocket on her shorts and placing then at various points over her body, tapping each one as she did as each wound began immediately healing itself. Her healing glyphs were glorified painkillers at best, but they still helped, so Luz always always kept a few of them on her. She did know a more powerful variant of the glyph, but its effects were far more random the lesser ones, and Luz had yet to figure out why.

_“Alright, I think we can call that your win kiddo, so congrats!”_

_“Gee, thanks!”_ She replied a little more sarcastically than intended

_“Oh quit ya whining kid, this’ll all help ya out at some point. Now, one more thing before you leave! I got you a present! Remember our conversation from last night, about you needing some new gear?”_

_“Wait… You already got something? Eda its been like 5 hours how the fuck do you already have something?”_

_“Weeeeelllll, I may have been having it made to celebrate your 100 th successful job, either that or we can just say ‘magic’. Now go have a shower while I get it ready yeah?”_

Luz obliged, and within 20 minutes was back in the basement in her usual outfit, trying not to let her excitement show. As she came down the stairs Eda was holding out some folded black clothing.

_“Bout time kid, now come on! I really went all out for these clothes of yours!”_

Luz took the clothes from Eda and almost immediately started running her hand across the fabric, if it could even be called that. The material was something Luz had never felt before.

_“What is this?”_

_“Just try it on, then I’ll explain!”_ It seemed even Eda was having trouble containing her excitement this time, and Luz was happy to oblige, carefully slipping the jacket after removing her own. Like her old one, it was a coal-black, but this time lined with a number of pockets and secret compartments for a variety of uses. But what was that material? The inside of the jacket was warm, seemingly combining her old thermal and jacket into one, which was useful, and she felt around the back of her neck where the hood of the jacket rested. With some encouragement from Eda, she pulled it up over her head and watched in astonishment as the moment she did the fabric began stitching itself together across her face, creating a full mask that the hood overhung slightly. She could feel the material elsewhere, knitting its way down her legs and covering her jeans and shoes, and even providing her some gloves. The mask itself resembled that of an owl, 2 thin glass slits sat in place of her eyes, and a small beak to match the aesthetic.

From inside, much like with her bike helmet, the 2 cameras that mimicked her eyes displayed information in front of her like a screen. On its initial boot-up, the suit showed a quick outline of itself in the vizor alongside the various abilities and tools implemented into its design. The suit was aery yet warm, extremely high quality.

 _“Eda… this is AMAZING! HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THIS!”_ Eda could only laugh.

_“Ah, let me tell ya kid it wasn’t cheap, but if your mother won’t let me help pay off her debt directly, the least I can do is make your efforts to pay it off easier. Besides, I may not say it, but I am also quite fond of you not coming back in a body bag yanno?”_

Luz was lost for words at the jacket she was just handed, which alone must have cost thousands of snails. She couldn’t believe Eda would get her something like this and was quick to wrap the old witch in a tight hug.

 _“Alright kiddo, I get it, you like the jacket!”_ She chuckled

_“Like it? Eda I LOVE it! Now I really can live up to my new namesake!”_

_“You just make sure you spend some time getting used to its features alright?”_

_“Yeah yeah I know, I’ll be su… Wait, if this works as a computer then…”_

_“HOOOOOOT, Hey best friend! Now we can be even closer than befoooooooore!”_

_“Oh no”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's chapter 4 finished, and would you believe I pumped this garbage out in one afternoon high off of redbull and pizza? No, good cause I'm still in disbelief myself, to be honest
> 
> I will be starting my own university course back up soon enough, as well as my part-time job, no I'm not an assassin, unfortunately, so my time will be a little more occupied, which might slow down how fast these come out, hope you guys don't mind waiting


	5. An unexpected encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we begin Chapter 5, I had some fun with these guys first encounter, as well as thinking up all the fun things Luz's new jacket can do!

**Luz pov:**

After Luz had safely stored away her present she set about helping Eda prepare the shop for the day ahead. While she didn’t technically get paid, Eda would usually be more lenient in her training in return for her help and that was more than enough encouragement in her opinion. There were a few downsides, of course, usually, her only company that actually talked was Matt which went just as well as you’d imagine it too, and Luz had to wear the shop's uniform. Not that Luz hated it, of course, Eda had been nice enough to match her color scheme, a soft purple t-shirt with a white owl outlined on the back and a white skirt with purple streaks. Matt’s was a similar design, though his clothes were a darker blue and had black trousers in place of the skirt.

The shop had already been open to customers for a few hours by now, with most of the early morning rush only stopping by for coffee or a quick snack. With Matt pointedly ignoring her existence and sitting on his scroll behind the counter, Luz kept herself busy with King and Owlbert. Despite being young, Owlbert was extremely friendly with almost everyone who came into the store, and if he was afraid of you it was usually a bad sign, but regardless he helped bring customers in. King was equally as popular with the kids that would stop by on their way home from school or during weekends, there was even one mum just down the street that would just leave her kid at the café for a few hours while she went to work. King also helped deal with rowdy customers on the rare occurrences they would appear, not that Luz couldn’t deal with them herself of course, but usually the very large dog with bared fangs made them think twice before starting the fight that Luz would have to finish.

Luz had just finished serving an older woman when the small bell for the door signaled a new customer, Luz turning to greet them only to be welcomed by the sight of Willow and Gus. Now out of school, Gus had finally let his own style show, wearing a deep blue hoody with the sleeves removed and jeans torn at various points along the legs. His hands, Luz could see, were wrapped in thin fingerless gloves, an odd choice given the heat but as someone who willingly wore a jacket in the middle of summer, she wasn’t exactly one to talk. Willow was sporting a simple short-sleeved green shirt with floral prints and jeans not nearly as ruined as Gus’s. Without her trenchcoat Willow's work at the gym was on full display, her muscles easily rivaling even Eda’s. She had just started her transformation when Luz had first met her, and she still remembered the chubby twigs for arms girl she had been 6 years ago, though nowadays she looked more like a professional wrestler than a uni student.

 _“Willow, Gus! I wasn’t expecting you guys to drop by today!”_ As Luz welcomed them the pair moved across to a table near the counter. Owlbert was quick to nestle into the hood of Gus’s hoody, while King excitedly jumped onto Willow, one of the few monsters alive that could carry him like the puppy he was. As she caught him and sat down she replied.

 _“Well…”_ She stole a quick glance around the shop, confirming that Matt wasn’t paying attention, _“We had to come to congratulate you on another successful job didn’t we Miss Owl Assassin?”_ She whispered

 _“Ahhh, you heard about that then… Eda wasn’t too thrilled about it honestly but- Hang on”_ She turned her attention to Matt who caught her eye

_“Hey dickwad, you can go for your break early if you like, I don’t want you knowing anything more about my life than you already do, so scram”_

He glared at her, then shifted his vision to her two companions at the table with her and shrugged  
_“Fine, not like I want to spend any more time in a room with you than necessary!”_

He stood up and headed back through the kitchen, letting the door shut behind him.

_“There, now that the pain in my ass is gone we don’t have to whisper”_

_“I’m honestly impressed he still works here, I lost 10 snails to Gus thanks to you not flipping out and punching him, show less restraint will you?”_ She chuckled.

_“I gotta agree, he was dreadful back in college but at least I only had to see him a fraction of the time, you have to share a room with him for hours every day”_

_“What can I say, dealing with assholes is a natural talent of mine!”_ She struck a smug little pose.  
_“So, you two want anything? You know Eda’s rule no sitting in without a purchase!”_

_“I’ll have a blueberry muffin!”_

_“Black coffee please”_

Luz stood up and moved to the counter, starting the coffee machine over an empty mug for Willow and grabbing Gus his muffin while she waited for it to pour.

 _“So Luz, now that we’re alone you fancy explaining what exactly happened last night? That owl of yours could be seen by half the damn city”_ Willow spoke up, staring at Luz with squinted eyes.

 _“If you were looking to make a scene you certainly accomplished it!”_ Gus added.

_“I… I wasn’t planning on it exactly! But the guy was asking for it, I’m pretty sure he was trying to force himself onto some girl, had a knife at her throat and everything! I wanted him to suffer!”_

The pair just stared at her wide-eyed as she moved back across with their orders.

 _“Wait, seriously? Wasn’t that at a party?”_ It was Gus that broke the silence.

_“Yup, guess he noticed Cabbage tops was alone out there and went to try his luck, titan even if he wasn’t my target I might have made my first exception to the whole ‘No killing anyone besides the target’ rule…”_

_“Cabbage tops?”_

_“Yeah, the girl that he was creeping on had this really pretty green hair, I’ve never seen anything like it!”_

_“Wait… no it couldn’t be?”_ Willow started mumbling to herself, seemingly dropping out of the conversation momentarily, leaving Luz and Gus to keep it going.

 _“Well,_ I _think you did the right thing! Still, You did just make a rather rich enemy, that guy's father was a beneficiary of the Blight WEB corp, and they’re on good terms last I checked, you might have their robots banging down your doors sometime soon!”_

 _“Please, like I’m scared of some glorified Roombas, their robots are easier to fool than the usual guardsmen the coven sends”_ She crossed her arms, she had only run into a Blight corp robotic soldier once, and it hadn’t exactly done a fantastic job at stopping her. Granted, that was one of the earliest models, but from what Luz had seen their newer ones weren’t all that much more impressive either. It was at this point Willow snapped back to reality.

 _“True, but they all have cameras on them, which is dangerous for you even if you can alter your appearance”_ She added, causing Luz to smile

 _“Heh, not anymore it's not, Eda’s given me some new gear and now my face is completely hidden! I’m basically unstoppable at this point”_ Her bravado only caused her friend's eyes to roll before they all heard the bell to the front door ding. Luz was quick to stand back up, ready to greet the customers with her usual smile until she finally saw the familiar red coloring.

_“Hi, welcome to the owl house, how may we… Oh you’ve got to fucking with me”_

In front of her stood Boscha who seemed equally as surprised as Luz did, staring at her wide-eyed as her brain slowly processed what was happening.

 _“Wait… YOU? YOU WORK HERE!?”_ Luz just sighed at the shouting, taking a moment to see who else was with her new least favorite person. Behind Boscha were the same 3 girls as before, all of who looked just as surprised as Boscha had, but this time there was another girl, one eerily familiar to Luz. The mint green hair was just too unique, and Luz couldn’t stop herself from mumbling as she stared at the girl in shock.

_“Cabbage top?”_

**Amity pov:**

When they had seen the cute owl-themed restaurant a few moments ago Amity had been quite excited. It seemed pretty empty, which was already a bonus for her, but not neglected, in fact, the shop itself looked incredibly well maintained and cozy, a perfect place for her and her friends to relax for a bit and get a snack. What she hadn’t been expecting when they entered, was for Boscha to immediately recognize the waiter that greeted them. It took Amity all of half a second to block out her friends screaming, and instead focus on who she was shouting at. In front of them, dressed in what she assumed was the store uniform was a Latina girl who seemed roughly the same age as them. She had long brown hair and pretty golden eyes, like a dirtier more worn variation of her own golden eyes. Behind the waitress were the only other 2 customers in the store, a younger boy dressed in… questionable clothing, and a strangely familiar girl that Amity swore she recognized, though she had no idea where from. Her eyes found their way back to the waitress who was now staring at her with wide eyes like she’d seen a snaggleback kick in the front door. What caught her even more off guard though was the name she muttered seemingly directed at her.

_“Cabbage top?”_

Amity had been called quite a few names in her life, most of them variations of her last name, but never in her life had she been referred to as a vegetable, and she wasn’t quite sure she appreciated it.

 _“Excuse me?”_ The waitress didn’t have a chance to respond though before Boscha spoke up again.

_“Ooooh, so you have more nicknames huh? You got one for everyone or just people objectively better than you in every way?”_

The waitress just stared at them for a few seconds leaving an award silence to hang in the air while she thought. She took a deep breath, and Amity watched the customer service smile spread back onto her face, she wasn’t sure why that annoyed her.

_“I am terribly sorry ma’am, please, come and take a seat and I will be with you in just a moment!”_

The waitress motioned to an empty table by the door, if nothing else Amity admired her dedication to trying to end the fight. Boscha continued to glare at her but before she said anything she seemed to get an idea, returning the waitresses smile

_“Fine”_

She moved to take a seat, followed quickly by Skara, Amelia, and Cat. Amity lingered for a moment, but ultimately followed them as well and taking a seat by the window. She had barely sat down however when a flying brown blob came hurtling towards her. She was half-way through drawing a spell circle when she realized that it stopped just head of her, a small owl that was looking at her expectantly. With all the girls at the table staring at the creature, none of them noticed the Waitress return, causing most of them to flinch when she finally spoke up.

 _“He’s waiting for you to let him land on your shoulder miss!”_ Amity’s eyes flicked back to the waitress

_“What? My shoulder?”_

_“Yup, just tilt your head to the side a little”_

Amity did as she was told and slowly moved her head to the left, trying not to react as the baby owl landed quickly on her shoulder and nuzzled into her cheek. She sat as still as she could, not daring to move and disturb the bird which the waitress seemed to find funny as she moved around the table next to stand next to her. As she spoke, she took Amity’s hand and brought it up to the bird, showing her how to gently stroke him.

 _“You can pet him yanno? He’s not gonna bite you!”_ She said with a smile

 _“His name is Owlbert, he’s something like our little mascot, and I’m Luz, I’ll be your waitress!”_ She chimed as she stood back up, turning her attention to the group as a whole

_“Now, what can I get for you all?”_

With Skara and cat were too busy fussing over the baby owl on Amity’s shoulder Boscha was the one to answer, her usual viciousness in her tone

 _“Can’t say I’m sure human, anything you touch might not be edible anymore!”_ She smirked, clearly trying to provoke a response from Luz.

 _“If you’d like, I can have our witch employee end his break early to come and serve you!”_ Amity seemed to be the only one who saw the girl's eye twitch.

 _“Why should we bother him, you can bring it, just don’t expect me to pay for it”_ She pressed further

 _“I’m afraid that’s against the store policy ma’am, if you aren’t going to pay, I’ll have to ask you to leave”_ Another twitch

 _“Excuse me? We came all the way out here to this flea-ridden rat-infested shithole part of town, the least you can do is actually feed us. Besides, you kinda owe me one after last time don’t you round-ears?”_ As she spoke, she stood back up to be face to face with Luz, prodding a finger into her chest.

Amity, as usual, seemed to be the only person who noticed the girl’s free hand that hung by her side close into a fist. That wasn’t good. She was about to speak up when she noticed the familiar girl from earlier now stood behind Boscha. When she had got there, Amity had no idea, she hadn’t even heard her moving but it was as she spoke that her memories finally clicked into place.

 _“Now now Strawberry, that’s no way to treat a hard-working girl!”_ As she spoke she placed a hand on Boscha’s shoulder. It seemed that Boscha recognised the voice the same time that Amity did, though before she could respond she was forcibly sat back down into her seat by the girl, something that shocked everyone except the waitress. Amity watched as Boscha once again tried to process what had just happened, slowly looking upwards at the girl behind her.

_“F-flowers?”_

_“You know these guys Willow?”_ The waitress asked

 _“You could say that, Boscha here, as well as… what did you call her? Cabbage top? Over there, bullied me all through primary school. You could say we’re well-acquainted!”_ Willow had a smile on her face that was anything but comforting, if this even was Willow. The girl stood there was easily twice the height that Amity remembered, but that wasn’t what shocked her. No, that honor belonged to the incredibly well-toned body that she now had, a body that should easily belong to a damn bodybuilder, not a 20 something-year-old girl. Boscha it seemed was having an equally hard time understanding how she had just been sat down like a naughty child, being captain of the Grugby team during her time at college she probably had never found someone physically stronger than her.

 _“Oooooh, bullies huh? Guess I’ll have to give these guys a special discount then!”_ The waitress piped up, only helping build the tension in the room. It was at this point she noticed that Luz wasn’t all that lanky looking either, and upon closer inspection was actually quite well built as well, though not quite to the same extreme that Willow was. That difference in strength though was seemingly made up by the large black hound that now stood defensively at the waitresses’ legs, staring at Boscha.

 _“Huh, wait… what?”_ Amity could only watch as Boscha suddenly found herself very much isolated and no longer in control of the situation, the rest of the girls opting to stay quiet, Amity included.

 _“Now Boscha, be a dear and behave yourself for my friend? She has a hard time showing restraint when dealing with people like you, I might have just saved you from a broken leg! So, sit down, relax, and enjoy the atmosphere ok? I’d hate to have to help her kick you out!”_ There was a look in the witch’s eye that silenced any vocal response from Boscha, a look that said she was probably more than happy to receive an excuse to pay her back for the years of torment she had put her through. She redheaded witch just gave a quiet nod and shrunk back in her chair, something Amity thought she was incapable of doing.

Happy with the response Willow moved back to her own table and sat back down, returning to her conversation with the boy. Luz stayed and took the girl's orders, everyone just ordering a drink except Skara who decided to ask for one of the cakes on display. Once Luz had brought them all their drinks, and Skara her cake, she went to sit back down at the table at the other end of the room and joined the conversation over there. Slowly, their own table started a conversation too, Skara being the first to speak up and break the tension that had build up.

 _“So… She got pretty buff huh?”_ The sudden question was enough to make Amelia and Cat giggle, while Boscha just huffed and crossed her arms, though Amity could see her continue to steal glances over in Willow's direction.

_“Yeah… it’s kind of impressive if I’m honest, she’s really improved”_

_“Oooh, I heard that she got into Hexside with a scholarship!”_ Noted Cat.

 _“Wait you knew she was attending, and you didn’t tell me?”_ Boscha finally spoke up, though not loud enough for the other table to hear.

 _“What? I thought you knew. She was literally stood like 10 feet behind… Luz? When she bumped into you yesterday”_ That seemed to job her memory.

_“Wha- Don’t you think I was a little distracted? Besides, she looks nothing like how she used to, how the hell was I supposed to recognize that?”_

Cat just shrugged and turned back to Owlbert who had moved over to Skara’s shoulder. Boshca sighed and dropped her elbows onto the table, burying her face in her hands. Since that conversation had all but died, Amity looked back over to the other table, specifically the Waitress. She wasn’t really sure what it was that kept dragging her eyes back over to the girl, but she couldn’t deny she preferred how she looked just talking with her friends over the overly nice and do good attitude she had when dealing with them. Still, she wondered why that girl looked as though she recognized her? Or maybe she was just shocked at the hair?

_“Hey, ames? You good over there, what are you staring at?”_

It was Skara who brought her attention back to the table and made her acutely aware of the fact that she had been staring, causing heat to rush to her cheeks.

_“What? Oh, nothing, sorry! Just kinda, zoning out”_

_“We were just asking about the party is all…”_ She droned on about some conversation she had last night at the party, and while Amity was listening, if only partly, she was more interested in the waitress, who she swore she had just caught staring at her.

Eventually, though more customers started arriving, and Boscha decided it was time they leave, a sentiment Amity shared. Still, Amity had somewhat enjoyed her time at the café, and it wasn’t too far from her manor either, maybe she’d stop by again sometime?

**Luz pov:**

Luz stumbled into her room and collapsed into the chair she kept in the corner. Once Willow and Gus had left the work really started to pick up, and before Luz knew it she had blown her opportunity to take her own break and had had to suffer through the workday on an empty stomach. But, today hadn’t been all bad, She had got to watch Boscha completely shit herself after Willow’s intervention, a thought that had kept her in high spirits almost all day, and she had gotten to see Cabbage top in person, whose name she now knew was Amity Blight. The girl was actually a lot more pretty when she wasn’t viewing her through the scope of a rifle, not that Luz would ever admit that to a girl that bullied Willow. She had much more of a ‘punk’ look to her that she had imagined she would outside of the party, a weird choice considering that the girls family was easily one of the wealthiest on the Isles, she should have been able to afford the same nice clothes the other girls that she had met that day wore. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet the girl the day after she had almost shot her, hell she hadn’t expected to meet her _ever_ , but apparently, the world had other plans. Luz glanced over at the clock, _9:43 pm,_ too early to sleep and too late to start anything new which left Luz with only one decent idea on how to waste her time.

Luz made her way down the steps into the basement, her new jacket draped over her shoulders. As she reached the bottom she pulled the hood up and felt the cloth begin to stitch its way over the rest of her clothing and by the time she had reached the center of the room the Owl assassin was fully covered.

_“Alright… Hooty, wake up!”_

_“HOOOOT, Heeeey Luuuuuz, what can I do for youuuu?”_

_“We’re testing out the new suit Eda got us, play nice and stay quiet and maybe I’ll let you fly one of your friends over the city as a reward”_

She watched the bird tube snake its way across her vision with its mouth open wide in shock

_“Reeeaaalllyyy? YAAAAAAAY, I can’t waaaiiit!”_

The AI began immediately running diagnostics on the suit, a list of key features available on the side. Luz started running through each one, night vision, heat vision, even a mode that could outline electricals through walls and concrete, useful! The suit was also capable of regulating her temperature, was bullet _and_ magic resistant, and waterproof. She noticed that the suit also had a number of built-in defenses too, like the ability to charge her gloves with electricity or put up a small protective barrier. Granted, that one wasn’t going to be too powerful given the size of the glyph, but it could theoretically stop one attack, and usually, that was all Luz’s opponents would get. There were a plethora of other gadgets too, like a short-range grapple and 2 deployable drones much like the ones in her bike, a small screen she could type on along her wrist, and a signal jammer.

As she continued inspecting it, she realized that the suit was also lined with dozens of glyphs that were etched into the fabric across its surface, most of which were object materialization glyphs. She ran her eyes over what each glyph summoned as her eyes lit up playfully. Making her way over to the single person shooting range Luz brought her hands up in front of her, arms outstretched. Quickly, she tapped her palms with her middle fingers and watched as in both hands the glyphs burned to life and produced 2 handguns that she was quick to grab. Ok, that was cool! She fired both pistols down the range at the worn-out target, emptying both mags before finally setting them down. She pulled the sleeve on her left arm up slightly so that she could see a second glyph hidden further up, and as she tapped this one she watched a large knife materialize along her forearm which she brought out and gave a few practice swings. There was another knife glyph on the right arm too, but she didn’t summon that one. Luz spent some time running over the various storage glyphs along the coat, storing things like ammunition, food and water, and other knives. There were a few more interesting things too, like the 4 glyphs she found along the back-bottom rim of the coat, which each held stored a deck of card coated in her 4 main glyphs, Light, fire, ice, and plant. There was also a slightly larger one above that which held a heftier melee weapon for when a knife just wouldn’t cut it, a larger full metal hatchet, not really her kind of weapon but certainly one she could find a use for. Finally, and most awesomely in Luz’s opinion, was the large empty storage glyph on the outside back of the jacket, one that the diagnostic claimed was probably powerful enough to store a large firearm. Luz glanced over at the wall of weapons Eda had amassed, but none of them particularly caught her eye, but that was fine, she could just store her rifle in it for now and find something cooler later.

It took Luz a good hour or so to replace everything she had removed from the jacket, but once she had she pulled the hood down, letting the fabric shrivel back until she was back to just wearing the jacket. This was easily the best gift Luz had ever received, maybe she could take a second job this week just once, only a small one, she was sure Eda wouldn’t mind… probably… maybe… possibly? In any case, Luz had her one free day this week, and it was back to lectures tomorrow, so she’d better get to bed.

**Amity pov:**

By the time Amity had gotten home that afternoon the sun had set, and Amity’s feet ached from walking around for so long. A part of her wanted to regret asking Boscha and the others to hang out today, and yet a much larger part was pretty happy with how today went. Sure, the encounter in the Owl house probably could have gone better, but they had least managed to remain civil and not burn the place down, not that they could have even if they tried, between Willow, Luz, and that dog, she wasn’t sure she and Boscha could win, and the other 3 weren’t really fighters, at least not the same extent they were. It was a strange experience seeing Willow again, deep down she knew she missed her, but her parents were always worried about public image and had forced her to end their friendship almost as soon as it had started. But hey, at least she seemed to be doing better now, and with her parents becoming busier every day maybe she could try and rekindle that friendship. Not that she knew how she would do that of course, when it came to people Amity had very little experience, she mostly relied on them talking to her, like Luz had when she showed her how to pet Owlbert… LUZ! That was it, if she could befriend Luz then she could get to Willow through her, and that was the only reason obviously. Yes, she’d have to start making some visits to the Owl house, maybe this time without ol’ strawberry tagging along and starting a fight. It was at that point she remembered the nickname she had received from the girl, and her mood soured a little. She already didn’t like her hair color, was there really any need to draw her attention to it more? Still, the more she thought back to the encounter, the less the name had sounded malicious, not even mean let alone intentionally rude. In fact, as she thought back, she almost thought it sounded somewhat sympathetic. Had the girl recognized because of the news? No, she wasn’t in the official report in any way… But maybe she _had_ seen her on that Owl assassin website! That had her picture in it, maybe she was a fan of the assassin. That explained why she kept staring at least, Amity couldn’t really think of any other reason why.

As she continued contemplating she got up to move to her dresser and remove her makeup, only now noticing the neatly wrapped gift that sat in the middle of it. Confused, she picked it up and read the label, a present from her father to help ‘ensure her safety’ after the incident last night. Huh. Amity slowly unwrapped it and stared in bewilderment. In her hands were 2 wristbands, similar in style to her usual favorites, but these ones had a secret. Amity could already feel the magic that was stored within them, immediately outing the accessories as magic items, one Amity presumed could store and release magic like a battery. She slowly slipped one band over her arm and held it out, drawing a small spell circle and conjuring forth a basic firebolt spell. She almost fell backwards when a gout of fire erupted from her palms, the pink flames dancing in front of her in an almost mesmerizing way. Carefully, she closed her fist and watched the magic die off. She was almost tempted to try summoning one of her abominations right here, but if it was affected in the same way as her fire magic she might end up drowning in abomination goo regardless of how large her room was. She slipped the band back off and placed it down beside the other, speechless at the gift her father had just given her. She had never really gotten along too well with him, even as a child she rarely saw him, but even so out of all his kids she was the one that took the most after him in terms of both appearance and personality. She still remembered how disappointed he had seemed the first time he had seen her dyed hair, she wondered if he even knew it wasn’t her choice. In any case, this gift was the first time he had even acknowledged her existence in months and while that did certainly piss her off a great deal, a part of her warmed up knowing that he must still be watching her no matter how busy he was. With a smile on her face, she binned the wrapping paper and left her new wristbands on the end table by the bed, she couldn’t wait to try an abomination tomorrow!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom, our heroines finally meet and don't really get off on the best of terms, but hey there's always next time right? 
> 
> And boy I do sure hope you weren't expecting Luz to be the only badass in this story, this is Beta Amity we're dealing with here, she ain't no pushover. I want you guys to know that I read all your comments and the encouragement seriously does make my day every time!
> 
> As usual, thanks for the Kudos and stay tuned for chapter 6, who knows when that'll appear?


	6. Backroom deals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so between moving house, work and university my week has been prettttttttty busy! I haven't had much of a chance to proof read this chapter let alone rewrite any of it, but hopefully it isn't toooo terrible!
> 
> In slightly happier news, the UK is going into heavy lockdown after tonight so I'm gonna find myself with a lot more free time once again, which means next chapter should be a lot more well written

**Amity pov:**

Amity stood outside in the training grounds behind her manor, a large field with a barrier surrounding it to stop rogue spells from damaging the surrounding garden or the house, dressed in her training gear. She wore a green polyester tank and black leggings with her hair tied up in as neat a ponytail as she could manage, and of course, her new wristbands. Across from her stood her mentor, the imperial specialist Lilith Clawthorne, dressed in her work outfit and staff in hand. She had long raven black hair, teal eyes and wore a long ankle-length skirt which faded into a lighter shade as it reached her torso. In her right hand she held her staff, a brilliant white with a gorgeous raven etched into the top. It was thanks to that staff that Lilith was given the call sign ‘Raven leader’ by the emperor, a name she often lived up to when materializing her magic.

_“Alright Amity, let’s see if you’ve improved on the points I detailed from last time shall we?”_

Lilith only ever referred to her as ‘Amity’ whenever her parents weren’t around, a small sign of softness that wasn’t lost on her.

 _“Yes ma’am!”_ She lowered her stance, ready, and the moment she saw the Raven lady start to move she began casting her own magic. Lilith opened with a raven shaped bolt of lightning that soared towards Amity with terrifying speed, but this time she had been fast enough, and the attack was quickly absorbed and dispelled by one of the 2 abominations that Amity summoned forth.

Amity’s relationship with her abomination magic was always a strained one, a magic that she both loved and hated in equal measure. When she had been young, Amity had shown a natural talent for magic, but that talent wasn’t aimed at abomination magic, no Amity in fact took after her father and was a natural prodigy with fire magic. But, fire magic was widely considered plain and even somewhat easy in the witch community, something her mother wasn’t happy with, which meant from the moment she started her home-schooling Amity was trained to become the finest abomination witch the Isles had ever seen. And she _had_ done it, she studied endlessly and trained daily until finally, she had become the single strongest abomination mage on the Isles, possibly even the world. She had single-handedly spear-headed the development of abomination magic, developed countless variants to be summoned and had all but exhausted every possible upgrade she could find for the magic style, everything that is short of mixing magic, something the emperor considered ‘taboo’, and something she was forbidden from researching.

The two abominations she had summoned in this instance were her aptly named abomination soldiers, lovingly nicknamed salt and pepper, smaller, roughly witch sized, but coated in a hardened carapace that protected them from all manner of attacks. Despite the armor, they were exceedingly more mobile too, an improvement on the original in all forms and one of her proudest achievements, though her mother still saw ‘room for improvement’. Amity willed her summons into action, pepper forming her arms into blades (dulled for training purposes of course) while salt charged forward, his right arm forming into a hammer as he attacked. But still, Lilith was no pushover, and even with their natural resistance to magic, she was still one of the most powerful witches on the Isles. She dodged the attack from salt with ease, appearing behind him in a flash of light and swinging with her staff, the magically charged blow enough to drop him to his knees and force him to start regenerating. Dammit. pepper was next, moving forward this time with a little more care as she further hardened her armor while Lilith turned her attention towards her. With a massive spell circle cast, Lilith blasted pepper with a beam of magic energy, the soldier barely able to form her blades together into a shield in time to block it as the force from the attack began pushing her backward. But now Lilith was distracted, and Amity was nothing if not opportunistic as she conjured forth a dozen fiery bolts which she fired towards her opponent, careful to not use any excess magic from her wristbands as she did so, she was here to test her strength, not the items.

 _“Not bad dear”_ She heard Lilith say, the witch canceling her spell on pepper to form a barrier, its hasty deployment barely giving it enough strength to block the firebolts she threw at her, before then having to dodge again as pepper appeared and swung at her with a reformed sword arm. Amity traced her path as she moved, coming to a stop high up in the sky and smirking at Amity, seemingly confident she was out of range of her abominations. _Which was technically true, for now anyway._ Amity drew a larger spell circle, the signature red coloration already telling her opponent what to prepare for as a stream of fire shot into the sky only to be blocked by a far sturdier barrier this time. Aiming backward, Lilith let her staff spin and draw its own spell circle, conjuring her own blue streams of fire that launched outward and span around the barrier, snaking their way down towards Amity, but she had seen that trick before and was quick to counter. Finishing the circle, she was drawing with her foot Amity canceled the fire and allowed a third abomination to arise around her, it's body sealing so that no attack can reach her. She watches the impacts in the slime, denting but not breaking the elastic-like material the summon was made from, and then lets the abomination she often referred to as Jellybean slowly lower its defense so that she can see again.

 _“I see your control over your abominations has improved yet again, Jellybean is certainly more durable than the last time I faced him…”_ That made Amity smile

 _“You haven’t seen anything yet!”_ Amity turned her attention to righty and lefty who had by now finished recovering from their wounds and gave her command. Lilith could only watch impressed as the abomination pair both sprouted a pair of wings and launched themselves into the sky, starting a drawn-out skirmish with Lilith while Amity prepared her own attack. It took her roughly 30 seconds as she drew a series of 5 circles, each one getting slightly larger than the one in front of it and aiming it in front of her. Just in time too, as righty was able to get behind her and with one massive swing from his hammer send Lilith careening towards the ground with a deafening _crash_. As the dust cleared Lilith stood up, brushing off the small amount of dirt that had gotten on her outfit, and turned to face Amity, her eyes going wide as she realized just where she was stood. It was too late though, and Amity activated her spell. The first circle shot forward a massive gout of red flame, which was captured and condensed by the second into a more pressurized stream of yellow, then green, then blue, then finally, from the smallest and final circle no larger than a dinner plate, a searing hot pure white flame burst forth. Lilith was able to throw up yet another barrier, the strongest so far, but even that began to crack and break under the pinpointed force of Amity’s attack. Just a little more and… The world slowed down at that moment, as the barrier shattered like glass only to be replaced with the visage of a bright white raven, whose wings now stood in the way of Amity’s attack, blocking her most powerful spell to date with relative ease, that was heart-breaking. The raven itself though was beautiful, yet terrifying, and Amity realized this was Lilith’s way of telling her she’d won.

Slowly she lowered her hand and let the magic powering her attack stop as the spell died off. No longer blinded by the raven nor the flame, Amity could see that her mentor, while unharmed, had quite the expression on her face and Amity wasn’t great at reading faces, even she could recognize the shock that plastered Lilith’s. What she wasn’t expecting though, was the smallest hint of fear in her eyes, though the moment she realized Amity could see her again that hint entirely vanished.

 _“Well, I must say Amity you certainly caught me off guard with that one… Maintaining several spell circles like that is quite advanced, even for someone like you”_ She let her raven dissipate.

 _“Clever right? Though I can’t exactly aim it very well so using it against a person is usually quite hard!”_ As she spoke, pepper and salt dropped down behind her, their wings slowly being sucked back into their bodies.

 _“Clever indeed dear… Not to mention the flying abominations as well, are you sure you aren’t practicing with someone else besides me?”_ She joked, walking over to her student with a smile.

_“I wish, no one at the school can keep up with me for long, and father is never home…”_

_“And I don’t suppose our great emperor would be up for a friendly bout either, there are quite a limited number of people you can spar with it seems. Just a testament to your abilities though I suppose, once you become a specialist you will be unmatched!”_

Amity’s heart sunk a little at that. Yes, her mother wanted her to become a specialist, which is why she had one of the most distinguished combatants on the isles training her regularly, but that, along with almost everything else in her life, had been decided for her. Truth is, Amity didn’t want to become a specialist, she had spent her whole life chained down and following rules, and the idea of becoming a literal lapdog terrified her as much as it did bore her. She had yet to tell anyone that though, her training sessions with Lilith were some of the most fun she had, one of the few times a week where she felt all the work she did _was_ enough, she wasn’t ready to lose that yet.

 _“Haha… yeah, thanks!”_ That last bit came out a little meeker than intended.

_“Is something wrong dear?”_

_“No ma’am. Just a little tired is all, I used up a lot of magic today!”_

_“Well get some rest, ok? I’d hate to learn that my favorite student has collapsed”_

_“Am I not your only student?”_

_“I never said you had competition”_

Amity watched Lilith make her way back towards the manor. She was on a tight schedule as always and always left rather quickly once their sparring session was over. She usually received an email that night with pointers on how to improve.

Amity stretched, despite this being one of the few times she avoided actually being hit by Lilith that didn’t stop her excessive use of bile from making her feel exhausted. She considered stealing a little bit of magic from the wristbands but decided against it, they’d only drain it back off her again anyway. By now, the sun was setting, and honestly, Amity was not in the mood to study after one of her most powerful spells to date had been swatted aside so easily. She stood in the field a moment longer, trying to think of something she could do for an hour or so before trying and failing to sleep, her mind only coming to one good idea, the Owl house. She still had to try and befriend Luz, if she ever wanted a chance at making up to Willow she was going to need an ally and the waitress, while admittedly quite cocky in her nicknames, had been rather friendly to her during their visit. It was decided, time to go get a coffee!

Or at least that was the plan, but now Amity stood at the door to the establishment with a _Closed_ sign hanging in her face she realized that she actually had no idea what time the café actually closed. _Ugh, she was an idiot_. She took a step back and rubbed her eyes, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she turned around. She had told Thomas not to come back to pick her up for an hour or so, a decision she was too busy regretting to even notice the rain beginning to fall, or the café door opening behind her.

 _“Err, you alright out kid?”_ The voice was old and gruff yet oddly caring in its tone. Amity turned around to see an older woman in the doorway of the café, hair even more unkempt than her own and dressed in a dark red dress.

 _“Oh, yes, sorry I just didn’t realize what time you closed and I already sent my driver back and…”_ She was cut off by the old woman raising a hand.

 _“Alright, relax kiddo, you wanna come in and have a coffee until this driver of yours returns? Even I’d feel bad leaving someone alone out in the rain”_ Now Amity realized it was raining, answering the woman’s question with an embarrassed nod. She followed the woman into the dark café, all too thankful for the warmth that greeted her, and took a seat near to the counter where the only remaining light of the storefront was flickering softly. In the background the distinct noise of a guitar could be heard, and at first, Amity thought it might be from a radio but after a small mistake and a restart of the song she quickly realised that someone further into the store was playing. She was so distracted by the music that she didn’t even notice Owlbert flying towards her until he landed on her shoulder, nuzzling into her cheek affectionately.

_“So kid what can I get for you? Coffee, tea, stale cake?”_

_“Oh, errr, just a coffee please, black, no sugars!”_ That earned her quite a look from her temporary barista.

 _“Well, if ya sure…”_ The woman flicked on the machine and went about pouring Amity her drink, talking while she went.

 _“Names Edalyn by the way, but you can just call me Eda…”_ Amity just nodded, _“Gotta say though, never seen that lil fella warm up to someone so quick!”_ She added with a chuckle.

_“Oh, no I’ve been here before is all! Yesterday actually, your waitress, Luz, showed me how to pet him!”_

_“Yeah that sounds like her, she’s quite protective over our little mascot there, gets all grumpy if someone doesn’t treat him right! Still if you’ve been here before and came again can I start expecting a new regular at my humble little shop”_ While that was worded like a question it almost felt like Eda knew the answer already.

_“Maybe, it’s quite cozy here and you did let me in even after closi- wait is that why you let me in? So I’d come back?”_

Eda just shrugged, but her smile told Amity that was entirely the only reason she was out of the cold right now.

_“What can I say, I ain’t gonna pass up the opportunity for the baby blight to start spending her vast wealth at my shop! And hey, if ya start bringing your rich little friends too all the better!”_

_“You knew who I was?”_

_“Kid, you’ll find there are very few people in this city bold enough to strut around with bright green hair”_

_“Touché…”_

_“So are you a friend of Luz’s? Normally it’s just the Parks girl and that Illusion brat that she hangs around with”_

_“Oh… Errrr, we’re not exactly friends? Yet, we’re not friends yet,”_ She quickly corrected, which caused Eda to raise a brow.

_“Buuut you want to be?”_

_“I suppose…”_

_“Excellent, that kid could do with some wealthy friends to mooch off, then she’d stop asking me for money! Why don’t ya go say hi?”_ Go say hi?

_“Huh? Wait, she’s still here?”_

_“Course she is kid, she lives here!”_ Oh, well that made a lot more sense, was she the one playing the music?

 _“Just head through the kitchen into the corridor, her room is the one at the far end, just follow that god-awful music of hers!”_ It wasn’t god awful!

_“Right…”_

And just like that, coffee in hand, Amity found herself outside of Luz’s room. She still wasn’t exactly sure how she’d gotten there, or if she really was just about to knock. This was supposed to be a ‘casual’ meet up while she was working, she wasn’t exactly planning on sitting in her room like a couple of best pals… But she was here now, and she still had almost an hour until Thomas came back to pick her up so, here goes nothing!

_Knock knock knock._

There was a moment of silence following the knocks, the music had all but stopped too, and for a moment Amity wondered how much trouble she’d get in if she just ran home right then, but eventually a familiar voice called out.

 _“C-come in?”_ Amity took a breath and slowly opened the door.

She pushed open the door to Luz’s room and took a moment to look it over. It was small, very small actually, barely large enough for the bed and dresser that took up most of the space, smaller in fact than even her dressing room… wow that sounded rich. There were some old clothes lying around alongside two guitar cases, one of which sat half-tucked under the bed, and in the corner of the room was an old worn looking chair with a bag and jacket occupying it. The walls were littered with posters of bands and landscapes, with a dirty mirror sat between them, and a single small window at the far end behind the bed. The bed itself had the covers balled up at the headboard, leaving the rest of the bed to be taken by Luz who sat with her back to the wall facing the door and guitar on her lap. She had her gaze fixed on Amity, clearly not expecting her to be the one who opened her door.

_“Cabbage top?”_

“ _Errrr, hey! Fancy meeting you here, well not here, you live here, which I didn’t know! I mean, I didn’t come here to bother you at home I just didn’t realise you lived here, I thought you just worked here you know?”_ She managed to stop her own rambling by clearing her throat, regaining a little of her composure.

_“What I mean is, hey, sorry to barge in on you like this, this really wasn’t my plan…”_

_“Riiiiiight, you had a plan?”_ She just looked confused

_“Oh, errr, no not exactly! I mean, I did come here to talk to you-“_

_“To me?”_

_“…Yes?”_

She stared at Amity for a moment longer before moving her guitar to the side and shuffling forward so that she sat on the edge of the bed.

_“Ok well, I’ll admit it’s a little strange you just showed up at my bedroom door, but at the very least you’ve captured my interest cabbage top, what exactly did you want?”_

_“First off, it was Eda who sent me down here, so blame your boss, or landlord, whatever she is. Secondly, my name is Amity not ‘Cabbage top’ so stop calling me that…”_ She crossed her arms and waited for her response.

 _“Fine, **Amity** , what exactly did you want with your one-time waitress… wait did you come to give me your number? I’m flattered but you’re not my type!” _That caused Amity’s cheeks to flush.

 _“Oh, you wish, but no, I wanted your help with something that’s all, and if you’re gonna act like that I’ll find a different way to do it!”_ She turned, taking a step back towards the door.

_“Alright relax, I’m sorry! What exactly did you want my help with anyway? We only met yesterday”_

_“I wanted… I wanted your help apologizing to Willow since you seem to be her friend, for everything I did to her, and you know, if she took it well maybe we could even be frien-“_

_“Alright Miss Blight I’m gonna stop you right there”_ She turns back to Luz who just stared at her like she was an idiot.

 _“While I find it hilarious that you want me to help a bully get back in touch with her victim, I feel at least obligated to tell you that Willow probably won’t be interested in forgiving you. She gave you your chance, she chose to trust you despite all the bullies telling her you were using her, and in the end you trampled that trust into pieces. You had your chance, and you threw it away for some laughs, so no, I won’t help you apologize, but I do admire your balls for daring to ask me to help!”_ She had an obviously fake smile plastered across her face by the end of her little rant, but Amity barely noticed, focused instead on the anger threatening to boil over within her. She wanted to roast the girl in front of her alive in that very moment, for speaking to her like her wanting to be a better person was laughable, but she managed to hold herself back.

_“Look, I’m not saying I deserve forgiveness alright? You probably don’t like me much if Willow is your friend, but all I want is a chance, I’m not the same person I was. I know you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but I didn’t do it ‘for laughs’, I did it to protect her and her family from my parents!”_

She watched the human’s reaction, an expression of thoughtful contemplation then resignation.

 _“If you ever knew Willow, even a little, you’d know she didn’t need ‘protection’… but fine, since you’re so determined I’ll help, I can’t wait to see this backfire though!”_ Amity just glared at her

 _“So sure, if you stop by tomorrow we can brainstorm this elaborate apology you’re gonna present to her, but right now I’m afraid we have to cut this short…”_ She taps the second closed guitar case with her foot, _“…because my second job is starting soon, and I should really be on my way!”_

A second job, when she already lived in at the first?

 _“Fine. What time tomorrow?”_ Luz was already pushing her out of her room.

_“Whenever, same time as today will be fine now scram, I have to get changed”_

And just as quickly as she had found herself at the door in the first place, here she was outside of it again, coffee now cold in her hand. She felt her phone buzz and glancing down she saw a notification from Thomas saying he was on his way back now. She smiled and tucked her phone back into her pocket, this day hadn’t gone exactly to plan! Honestly, she was hoping Luz was nicer off of work, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she had agreed to her request solely to get her out of her room, but she **had** agreed, and that was a win at least in her books, even if what she said did leave a few inklings of doubt growing in her head.

**Luz pov:**

Of course, Luz hadn’t wanted to be that mean, she may be a bitch sometimes, but she was still a decent human being and she thought someone trying to make up for past mistakes was a commendable goal no matter who it was. But she had to be sure that this Amity girl was serious about apologizing, if she was half-assing it just because she felt bad Willow would realize immediately and beat the ever-living shit out of the girl, something she really didn’t want to have to stop herself.

Luz sat back down on her bed, and sighed, of all the people she had been expecting to see when that door opened, the green-topped corporate heir was not one of them, but hey she was never going to say no to a cute girl request, Willow would understand… probably. Speaking of Willow, Luz wasn’t lying when she told Cabbage tops she was busy, since tonight she had a job helping Willow’s family out in their not so legal background business. Yes, technically she wasn’t supposed to be taking any jobs at the moment, but this one didn’t really involve killing people, not usually anyway, so she figured it was probably ok!

She waited until her guest’s footsteps disappeared down the hall before getting back up and changing, throwing on some older loose clothes since her jacket was going to cover her up anyway, and grabbing said jacket from the chair in the corner. Willows fathers, during the day, ran a small and humble little flower shop that was a hit with fathers who had forgotten anniversaries. But, during the night the Parks family ran one of the most prolific smuggling operations the isles had ever seen. They had used their plant magic to empty out and stabilize a long-hidden tunnel network deep below the earth that very few people knew about, including the Imperial coven guards that often patrolled the harbors and borders. Still, these tunnels weren’t completely devoid of threats, between giant worms, angry plants, and rogue demons, the trucks that delivered merchandise often found themselves pissing off some kind of wildlife, so the Parks family would hire mercenaries to guard their deliveries from trouble. But of course, there were some routes that were so dangerous they required more… professional security, something she and Willow often dealt with themselves. She grabbed her case from under the bed and slung it over her shoulder and gave Willow a text that she was on her way. Tonight they’d be tackling one of the most dangerous routes the tunnels held, and honestly, she had a pretty bad feeling…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I am aware that this story is making use of quite a few settings, Coffee shop AU and school AU to give some examples, so I figured I'd clear this up a lil bit. Firstly, the school setting in this story is going to very much be a background setting that rarely gets used, mostly there just to help forward the plot a little, so don't be expecting too much from that one. Secondly, this is primarily a Hitman AU, so while the coffee shop will definitely get some love in the early chapters, once I hit the second story arc its going to very quickly lose its relevance. 
> 
> I should point out that I have a few AU ideas going fourth, but this one is going to be my pride and joy, so this is the one that is going to be going for quite a long ass time, with me probably taking breaks after each important plot point so work on a different AU. 
> 
> Finally, on the other AU points, my first new AU will probably be something I am naming the 'Gang AU' with Luz and Amity running rival gangs within Bonesborough. So look forward to that one too!


	7. Why did it have to be bugs?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some action and another full Luz chapter! This one is slightly longer since quite a few things happen and it wasn't QUITE long enough to split into two chapters. I hope people are happy with the combat scenes, I know they ain't great but I hope I can improve them over time.

**Luz pov:**

Luz pulled up outside the Parks flower shop and slid down off her bike, leaving it under the cover of a large tree planted along the pavement. Removing her helmet she made her way inside and was greeted by one of Willow’s dads at the counter. The shop itself was just about what you would expect from a successful business steeped in plant life with countless different species of flowers lining the walls and covering just about every colour under the sun. The isles had a rather unique situation regarding its wildlife with most of it being far more dangerous than anything that could be found on the rest of the planet ( _with a few notable exceptions),_ and It was because of that that the isles had its own isolated ecosystem within its shores. Still, when the countries borders were finally opened to the rest of the world many of the locals jumped at the chance to import a variety of fauna and flora to the island, most of which was now provided through this small chain of shops that the Parks family ran. The man behind the counter was one of Willows fathers named Aaron, the ‘softer’ of the two men that raised her friend. He was dressed in perfectly unassuming clothing and a soft blue apron and greeted Luz with a smile.

_“Ah, there’s our favourite mercenary!”_

_“For the last time Mister Parks I’m an assassin, not a mercenary, regardless of what Eda might tell you”_

_“And for the last time, I told **you** you can call me Aaron dear, no need for such formalities from you at least! Now, Willow and Marcus are waiting for you down below, you can leave that with me” _He motioned to her helmet which she was happy to leave in his care. In response to his instructions, she headed into the back of the shop, similarly full of varied plant life, and to a locked door that was hidden by a fairly strong illusion spell, graciously presented to the family by Gus after he had first seen how obvious the door was. She used the key she had been given to unlock it and made her way down the winding staircase hidden behind, a journey that took roughly 10 minutes.

The Parks family, of course, were not solely herbalists, and as previously mentioned, were in fact a significant trafficking operation hidden behind the façade of a flower shop chain. Their family had, over the years, developed a significantly large and winding series of tunnels deep beneath the island they called home. These tunnels were nearly impossible to navigate without the help of the Parks, who used their plant magic to communicate with the vast roots that held the tunnels steady, roots that wouldn’t communicate with any other plant mage, and directed them as they moved towards their intended destination. It was honestly ingenious, the Imperial coven completely unaware of their existence thanks to just how deep they had been erected. Criminal gangs, rebel movements and arms companies would often use these tunnels if they absolutely _had_ to get something across the isles without being stopped and having those items confiscated, and the Parks had so far managed to live up to their 100% success rate. Now, why would they need guards you might be wondering! Well, that was because, even though the Coven guards couldn’t get down here, there were still a number of demons that buried their way underground and would often break into the tunnels without even meaning too. On top of that, the vibrations that the trucks made while traversing the vast distances could also attract such creatures, though usually a few well-paid guards were enough to fend off any dangers. That was the case for almost every tunnel route they could take, but _not_ the one they were taking today.

As Luz reached the bottom of the staircase it opened up into a massive chamber, a dirt hall held up by giant twisting roots acting as supports. Huge tunnels shot off from this room in a number of directions and to every place possibly conceivable in the isles. At the centre of the hall was Willow and Marcus, as well as a dozen mercenaries Luz didn’t recognise… These weren’t the usual guys that the family took on a transport job as dangerous as this one, why swap now? She didn’t have long to ponder though, Willow noticed her and motioned for her to join them. Marcus was busy briefing the other mercs as she approached, but she had heard all that before and instead turned to Willow for answers. She was dressed in her usual outfit but this time with some notable additions. The first was a shiny 6 shooter that sat holstered at her side, the one firearm Willow reluctantly took for the extremely rare cases her magic wasn’t viable. She also wore a Kevlar jacket over her turtleneck and had a lit cigarette between her lips. Luz wasn’t really a smoker herself, her job sometimes called for healthy lungs, but Willow had no such obligations. It was rare for her and Willow to be assigned to the same transport job, this kind of security was saved solely for 2 specific tunnels which were known to be extremely dangerous to traverse.

 _“Afternoon Luz! Glad you could join us”_ She just rolled her eyes at Willows smirk

 _“What’s with these guys? Where are the usual’s?”_ That caused Willow to sigh, and she took the cigarette out of her mouth before responding.

 _“Apparently they’ve been hired on mass by some African warlord, so we couldn’t get our usual team to help out, instead we have these bozos who I don’t entirely believe have taken a job like this before…”_ She kept her insult quiet.

 _“Ominous, I like it!”_ Luz turned her attention to the men that would be helping Luz and Willow guard the merchandise, 7 men in total, 6 humans and a witch, armed entirely with American made assault rifles. They were likely well-funded if nothing else. Scanning their bodies, she could see that each human was carrying plenty of ammunition, a sidearm and a knife, as well as the odd grenade. Notably, though, the witch, that Luz assumed was the leader, was significantly less well-armed than his counterparts, still rocking the rifle but with far less ammunition and no extra sidearm. She supposed you could afford to travel light if you could shoot fire from your fingertips.

_“They seem well prepared at least”_

_“Yeah, I suppose…”_

_“You not trust em or something?”_

_“Luz I don’t trust anyone, but no, something about these guys is just… off”_

Luz feigned hurt at that statement

 _“Not even me? Your bestest fwiend in the whole wide world?”_ She put on a cutesy accent as she poked Willow in the arm.

 _“Not in the slightest”_ She smiled back, and Luz knew it was a joke, Willow had proven on several occasions that she trusted the Owl assassin more than most others. They stood in comfortable silence for a while, waiting for Marcus to finish addressing the new hires, and while he did Luz inspected their evening transportation. Nearby were 3 large white pickup trucks, each one’s cargo bed being filled with a dozen or so wooden crates that were strapped down securely.

 _“What are we transporting?”_ She asked curiously, earning a glance from Willow.

_“You know you’re not supposed to know that right?”_

_“Has that ever stopped you telling me before?”_

_“Touché. We’re moving some Japanese ‘hardware’ to a private port owned by our clients. Any goods brought in through the surface would be searched by the Coven so we’re taking it under the fence for em. It’s a long drive though, so get ready to be sat around for a while”_

Luz cringed a little at that, she hated the long drives, they were bumpy and uncomfortable and honestly _drove_ her insane. She chuckled at her own mental pun. At least this time she’d have Willow to talk to, she doubted she’d get much conversation from the mercenary she’d inevitably be sharing the space with. Of the group of nine they now had, 3 would drive (one of which was Willow), and the rest would be paired off into the back of each truck, 2 guards per vehicle. Still, for the route they were taking this level of security was light, something that Luz couldn’t help but worry about, and something Willow picked up on pretty quick.

_“Relax Luz, it’s late, most the demons that occupy this route haven’t even been seen recently, we might just luck out and have a completely uneventful ride!”_

_“Suuure, and when we do I’ll grow wings and fly up into heaven like the angel I truly am!”_ She mocked.

_“Let’s be real here Wills, if the smaller demons haven’t been seen recently that only means that something has scared them off. And that terrifies me more any of the usual threats that occupy our time on these little road trips of ours”_

Willow just shrugged and took another drag of her smoke before letting it fall to the ground and stamping it out. The briefing was done. Luz reached up and pulled her hood up, letting the fabric stitch its way over her body as she hopped into the back of the nearest truck, which Willow occupied the drivers seat off. The mercs quickly followed suit, with one of the humans joining Luz, not that he looked awfully thrilled by the idea of course. As he passed, Marcus gave Luz a nod, She had done this a number of times already and knew what she was doing, a gesture she returned as she settled down as she rested her guitar case beside her. It was Willow who addressed the group first, leaning out the window as she called out.

_“ALRIGHT, REMEMBER, YOU FOLLOW ME, DO NOT PULL AHEAD, YOUR MERCHANDISE COMES FIRST. IF YOU DON’T WANT TROUBLE ON THIS LITTLE TRIP DON’T DO ANYTHING TO DRAW ATTENTION TO US, NO GUNFIRE CAUSE YOUR BORED, GOT IT?”_

She was met with a series of nods of approval which seemed to be enough for her as she dipped back inside her truck and started the engine, the 2 other drivers following suit, and together set off down one of the many vast tunnels. Luz adjusted her seating slightly and closed her eyes. This journey was going to take hours, and Luz could use all the rest she could get before they reached the dangerous part of this tunnel. She had a bad feeling about this, for a number of reasons, but there was nothing she could do now and between her and Willow she was sure they could deal with whatever was thrown at them… _probably._

It was a sudden jolt from the truck that caused Luz to wake, mostly by causing her to smack the back of her head against the box she was leaning against. Grumbling, she sat up and rubbed her head, letting the suits night vision kick in as it came out of something similar to a sleep mode, accompanied of course by the ever-present Hooty who sleepily spaghettied his way across her vision, not that the bird AI could even _get_ tired…right?

Stretching, she first took in her surroundings. They were travelling down the gigantic tunnel at a steady speed, probably around 80mph she guessed, which was then confirmed by the suit. She seriously loved this thing. Her eyes then fell to her temporary roommate, the human merc named Lucas that sat across from her, seemingly playing a game on his phone as they drove, something Luz was tempted to copy now that she was awake. But, instead, she shuffled across the cargo bed to the small window that opened up for the driver and guards to communicate, or in this case Luz and Willow. As she shuffled over she managed to grab Willows attention, who slid the small window down for her.

_“And good morning once again Miss assassin, have a nice nap?”_

_“Just swell until my driver’s inability to avoid a pothole gave me a concussion…”_

_“Hey if you want to drive you’re more than welcome… Oh wait, you can’t can you, unlike me you don’t have plant magic”_ She risked a glance back with a smug look plastered across her face

_“I have plant magic!”_

_“That’s what you call those glorified weeds?”_

Luz rolled her eyes at that, watching the great vines pass overhead through the green-tinted vizor. Green huh?

_“Yanno, something weird happened today, or yesterday now I guess”_

_“…Ok? You wanna expand on that one chief or you just looking to annoy me?”_

_“Usually the latter but not today, I just… It was kinda weird. That ‘Amity’ girl, the one you said you recognised showed up at my door today, and I don’t mean the stores”_

_“She… Wait Amity came to your room?”_

_“Apparently”_

_“What on earth would Amity blight want from you of all people, you only met her yesterday right?”_

_“Technically yes, but I did see her the day before when she unknowingly helped me assassinate someone”_

_“Semantics Luz, what did she want from you?”_

Luz paused for a moment, should she tell Willow about Amity’s goal of trying to apologise? It would be better to know now if Willow would only laugh in her face, or at the very least it would save her some time.

_“She… She wanted my help apologising to you, seemed pretty out of character given how she looks!”_

_“She wants to apologise? Huh”_ With her eyes on the road ahead Luz couldn’t see the girls reaction, but she wasn’t laughing at the very least, so that was a win for Amity.

_“Are you considering it?”_

_“Depends, she asked you right, did she seem like she actually cared?”_

_“Well when I told her she shouldn’t bother she got all upset, I don’t think she likes me very much because of it now, but she was persistent enough that I was kind of forced to agree to get here on time. I think she’s serious”_

_“Huh”_

That was followed by a few minutes of awkward silence, with Luz absentmindedly playing with a knife she drew from her jacket before Willow finally spoke up again.

_“Well, I can’t say it would be safe for her to get involved with me again, it would be a little awkward having one friend that I can’t be open with, but…”_

_“But?”_

_“But Amity was very nice as a kid at least, even if that doesn’t mesh too well with my current personality, the least I can do is see if she’s serious. So help our cabbage topped friend out will ya? I’m curious to see what she does to make it up to me”_

Luz laughed, the idea of that punk-looking girl trying to make up with Willow now almost seemed comical in a way, she had to admit she was also kind of curious what Amity would come up with, and maybe she could get some free meals from the rich kid while she helped, that way everyone was a winner!

_“Alright, but if she plans something stupid I won’t sto-“_

Luz was cut short by a sudden violent rumbling that shook the small convoy and surrounding tunnel, causing dirt and dust to rain down on them from above. Behind them, thanks to her night vision, Luz could see a dust cloud that almost entirely filled up the underground motorway, obscuring her vision from seeing any further down. Had a portion of the tunnel collapsed? No, the vines that held these tunnels up were pretty sturdy and well maintained,

The rumbling died down, growing eerily quiet as the trucks continued to maintain their speed, but was then replaced by something new, a more rhythmic steady shaking that allowed a growing dread to grow in Luz’s stomach as she, along with the other guards, stood up and readied their weapons. The rhythmic pounding grew faster and faster, and then it came into view, a beast that could haunt nightmares. Erupting from the dust, and charging down the tunnel was a gargantuan centipede-like demon, a fully grown Tolgallag, one of the largest living demon species on the Isles. Its armoured segmented body sported dozens of massive sharp-tipped legs that hammered into the ground with terrifying force, driving the creature forward far faster than a creature that size should have been able to move. But it was head of the creature that filled Luz’s stomach with a lurching fear that threatened to freeze her in place, a massive gaping jaw lined with thousands of scimitar sized teeth accompanied by 2 pairs of long vicious-looking mandibles, each of which was lined with a dozen smaller ones and only adding to the creep factor. This thing, simply put, was massive, towering above even the trucks at an easy 20ft tall, 30ft wide. As for its length, hell Luz couldn’t even see far past its head, she had no idea how long that body stretched for. It was only after the frantic firing of a merc in another truck that suddenly everyone sprang into action, the 5 other mercs opening fire on the beast while Luz landed a heavy bang on the roof of the car atop Willow.

_“WILLOW, TIME TO STEP ON IT, AND I MEAN REALLY STEP ON IT”_

She felt the car lurch forward as the trucks quickly picked up speed, doubling, maybe even tripling their speed in a matter of seconds, though it was barely enough to keep ahead of the beast on their tale. As each truck suddenly sped up, their back-seat passengers all had to take a few seconds to steady themselves which gave Luz a momentary break from the deafening machinegun fire. It was just long enough for her to gather her thoughts and zoom her sight back in on the demon as she watched the countless bullets ping harmlessly off its hardened carapace. Clearly standard rounds weren’t so much as scratching it, so it was time for something that packed a little more punch. She scrambled forward and grabbed her guitar case, unlocking it and flipping it open as she grabbed her rifle, quickly shoving Lucas aside as she dropped the rifle's bipod onto one of the crates and took aim down the scope at the beast following them. She took aim and fire off 3 rapid-fire shots into the heads of the Tolgallag, the larger bullets leaving some scratches but nothing more. Dammit. She shifted her aim, hearing Lucas open fire again with his own rifle, and this time fired a round at the closest left-hand leg of the beast. She watched the bullet pierce through the thinner armour and tear the leg in half, but what little hope that had inspired quickly died when she noticed the creatures charge not so much as falter.

 _“Hijo de puta!”_ She spat. She could maybe take out a few legs like this but she doubted it would slow it down at all, and she only packed so many bullets. She reached back and dragged her case closer, producing from it another singular bullet, this time with the ice glyph engraved on the back of it. As she moved though, the demon was wasting no time in closing the distance, it’s elongated mandibles swinging dangerously close to the back of the trucks. Luz emptied the chamber and let the magazine fall from its slot, loading the bullet in its stead and taking aim again, moving back towards the head before firing. As the shot flew the magic took hold, and the moment the bullet made contact with the Tolgallag the width of the entire tunnel was encased in a wall of thick blue ice.

The gunfire stopped and once again Luz could hear herself think, but it was only replaced by the sounds of cracking ice, and then the sound of shattering ice. It had barely held a moment, and now the Tolgallag was back on their tail seemingly only infuriated by the minor inconvenience she had caused it.

_“Joder joder joder!”_

_“Luz you need to do something, we’re going 160mph already and that thing is still catching up!”_

She could barely hear Willow over the reignited gunfire, but she knew she had to do something if this thing caught them the cargo they were moving would quickly become the least of their worries. She didn’t know much about this creature sure, but she knew about regular centipedes, and she knew that for them their biggest weakness was their stomach where the armour was thinner. Well, that was out already, she’d have to have the Titans strength to be able to get that thing on its stomach, no there had to be something else!

Luz continued hurling glyph cards at the demon, a series of fire, plant, ice, and lightning striking the living tank alongside the rain of bullets and odd spell thrown out by the other witch, all useless, and they were running out of time. As she drew more glyphs from her jacket she kept her eyes on the beast behind her, it’s mandibles swinging wildly, it’s gaping maw open wide as it awaited its meal… its mouth! Of course, that was another weak point in the amour, and she knew _just_ what to feed it!

Luz pulled her rifle back and slotted it back into its casing, earning a confused look from Lucas, and closed the lid, lifting the case up. Honestly, Luz had never once used the feature she was about to, it had been such a situational option that she had never even bothered to use it, mostly because Eda warned her that in doing so she would render both the case and rifle inoperable… But, if there were ever a time for this, it would be against the impenetrable armour of a demon thousands of feet below the surface where no one could hear it.

_“Hooty, activate protocol ‘Curtain call’”_

_“HOOOT, Sure thing friiiieeennnnd!”_

The sound of gears whirred to life, and Luz watched the case slowly shift its form to produce a handle. She took it and pressed the small button at the side signalling she was ready, and the process truly began. The case began extending, its once smooth surface breaking apart to reveal the rifle inside and then rearranging itself, disassembling the rifle and rebuilding it, taking parts of the case and combining it with the gun inside. Pistons, motors, gears and cogs worked quickly to fuse the case and rifle together into a monster of a weapon, Luz’s ace in the hole, the half gauss rifle half anti-tank gun, the Owl cannon. She let the behemoth of a weapon slam down atop the same box she had been using to aim earlier, the box itself splintering under the weight as she carefully aimed towards the beast. She reached along the side of the rifle, and took the single bullet this mode provided her, her single shot, a bullet somewhere in size between a tank round and her usual sniper rounds, and slid it into the barrel of the weapon with a heavy _THUNK._

_“Willow, on the count of three I need you to stop the car and pin it down with vines”_

_“You want me to WHAT!?”_

_“JUST TRUST ME AND DO IT”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“NOW!”_

The truck came screeching to a halt, and before it had even fully stopped a swarm of vines erupted from the ground around it and held it down, almost throwing the stupidly large weapon off balance, but luckily Luz was able to catch it. Now completely still, the Tolgallag would be on them within seconds. She took aim, breathed in, and fired.

The shockwave that came next shook every bone in Luz’s body with such ferocity that she thought she may just have rearranged her entire skeleton. Glass shattered, wood splintered, the tunnel reverberated the force like an echo as the entire place shook. The bullet flew like lightning towards the Tolgallag, searing the ground it passed over and instantly piercing deep through the mouth of the creature with a sickening _crack_ that Luz was thankful she could barely hear. The beasts pace slowed, the slowed further, until it came to a complete stop all but 100ft or so away from the truck, the eyes of its 3 passengers watching with terrified anticipation. A final, gurgling, choking growl came from the pits of its stomach, and then the beast collapsed with another heavy _thud._ There was a sound of cheers from the two trucks just up ahead, and from Lucas too, as the vines slowly released their grip on the car. Luz let her weapon slowly piece itself back together, and running a quick diagnostic through Hooty told her that both the case and the weapon were probably in need of some dire repairs after that, which was fine with her, she doubted she’d run into anything else down here with a creature like that rummaging around. She let her the exhaustion of that whole encounter catch up and collapsed backwards, sparing Willow a glance who was breathing just as heavily and gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. That had certainly been… eventful! The trio was brought back to attention by the witch in the truck ahead of them which had the human mercenary revving the engine impatiently. Luz quickly looked over the cargo to make sure nothing had been lost, and besides the box she had used as a stand, they were all fine, and her rifle had finally finished returning to its normal form. She slid the guitar case to the edge of the cargo bed and was about to tell Willow to set off when something caught her eye, something that only served to reignite the terror she had only just been rid off. Thanks to night vision, she was able to quite clearly see the corpse of the Tolgallag nearby, and it was _moving._

Well, not moving exactly, more like pulsating? She looked closer, it was hard to tell with the green tint but she swore that the armour of the beast was shifting… like something was… trying to… get… out. No, no no no, not again, she couldn’t do this again. And then she saw it, the first piece to fall from the mighty corpse, landing on the ground in a small dog-sized ball-like shape, and she continued to watch in abject horror as it slowly unfurled, dozens of sharp little legs stretching at their new freedom, mandibles biting at the air, and small beady red eyes that trained themselves onto Luz. Then another fell, and another, and then a dozen more and suddenly Luz realized that this Tolgallag was in fact a female, and very _very **very**_ pregnant. She spun around and grabbed Lucas by the vest, dragging the merc back onto the truck before turning to Willow and drawing her attention with a fist pounding the wall behind her.

_“Drive”_

_“What?”_

_“DRIVE”_

Willow stole a second to glance at the side mirror to the left and saw them too, the hundreds, maybe thousands of beady red eyes that were very quickly multiplying.

_“Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!”_

And with no more questions, Willow slammed her foot down, kicking the truck into high gear and speeding past their allies, screaming for them to drive too. Luz crawled back to the edge of the cargo space, watching the other trucks catch quickly up with Willow while their respective guards loaded their guns, by this point they too had seen the eyes, but Luz had to be certain about just what they were dealing with. She produced a single glyph card and threw it into the ground. The light formed just as the red eyes reached it, and the 6 guards all took a moment to pray to whatever gods they might worship as they witnessed what can only be described as a tidal wave of baby Tolgallags swarm after them, covering the floor, the walls, and already reaching the ceiling in their mad dash after the trucks. The first shot wasn’t fired by Luz, it was a fireball from the witch that spurred the others into action and just as soon as it had finished the hail of bullets lit up once more as the now hopelessly outnumbered mercs tried their best to keep the wave of mandibles and death as far away as possible.

As the cars continued to speed away the collective guardians used everything at their disposal to slow the encroaching hoard. Even Willow was bothering to summon forth her plants despite the fact they would quickly leave her range, using their brief existence to tear away at as many of the bugs as possible. But it was no use, somehow these things we’re even faster than their mother which made almost no sense, and no amount of bullets, plants, glyphs or fire was able to stop them from reaching the trucks. Luz moved slowly until she was stood in the middle of the cargo bed, conjuring forth a pistol in her left hand, and drawing her hatchet with her right. She was ready!

Luz worked quick, using her pistol to kill the insects that managed to climb their way onto the cargo bed while Lucas continued slowing the majority with his rifle. She span, catching one of the insects climbing up behind her with the hatchet and cleaving it in two, then following up with 2 shots from her gun to deal with 2 near to Lucas, the viscous blue blood splattering across her weapon and suit and leaving such a vile stench that Luz wondered if it was even worth killing them. Still, she fought on, covering Lucas and killing as many of the insects that reached the truck as possible, but there were too many, and even Willow started having trouble. She had pulled out her revolver was using it to kill the few insects that had started climbing through the driver and passenger windows, having a small plant (grown from some dirt in the cupholder) to help her reload while she tried to keep the truck driving straight. But, Luz knew she could handle herself for now and turned her attention back to the swarm that was piling over the sides of the truck. She swung fiercely, killing bug after bug, but it only took one of them getting past her defence to turn the tide of battle. It had thrown itself onto her back and thrown her off balance, allowing a dozen more to join it and begin furiously biting at her body. She was the lucky one though, the material of her jacket, whatever it was, seemed able enough to resist the maws of the creatures as she thrashed about trying to get them off of her. Lucas though was not so lucky. Like with her, one managed to reach his leg, but unlike her, he didn’t have some special suit to protect him, and the insect's mandibles sunk into his calf. He screamed, and Luz watched him turn his attention away from the edge of the truck to begin smacking at the insect on his leg with the butt of his gun, a fatal mistake. Quickly, a dozen more insects leapt onto him as he all but abandoned his gun, drawing a knife and swinging wilding at the insects now on him. He stumbled back, and Luz wanted to help but was still pinned by her own attackers, she tried to call out, but it was too late and his legs hit the edge of the truck, causing him to fall backwards and over the edge, into the swarm proper were his screams very quickly fell into the distance. She felt horrible, but right now she had another problem, as more and more insects covered her body, their determination starting to pay off with small cuts into the material appearing across her body. It couldn’t hold out much longer.

_“HOOOOT, YOU AREN’T MY FRIENDS, GET OFF GET OFF!”_

The obnoxious voice rang through her ears, but at this point, she would take any help she could get. Still, if she was going to die, Hooty being her only company was not the way she wanted to go.

_“Hoot, I warned you little things, now I have to be MEEEAAANNN!”_

Luz’s eyes widened as she watched a system flare to life on her Vizor, already activated by Hooty without her even needing to accept, and a thought crossed her mind for the first time in her life… _maybe Hooty wasn’t so bad after all!_ Her body crackled with electricity, and in a single powerful pulse sent a shock over her entire body, instantly frying every creature that was on her, or even remotely close by. She was free, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to pass that up as she threw herself to her feet. She sent the command to Hooty and drew the 2 drones that were stored in her suit out from the storage glyphs, tossing them into the air as her partner brought them to life. The drones were never meant for excessive combat, but that didn’t mean they were useless, with each one carrying with it a powerful taser easily potent enough to kill an insect as small as these ones. And then the fight restarted, Luz with a knife and hatchet while the drones covered her rear, they weren’t going to sneak up on her again. She could maybe mourn Lucas at some point if she survived this. Maybe.

The problem now though, was the other truck to the left which had the other witch guarding it. She spared it a glance, and while the 2 in the back seemed to be holding their own, she realised the driver was in trouble. He, like Willow, was making use of a handgun to try and kill the insects that were making their way into the truck, but unlike Willow, he didn’t have a plant to help him out. She could only watch, still occupied with protecting herself, as his handgun finally ran out of bullets. The human could only scream as much like Lucas he was quickly swarmed, the shower of blood already telling Luz there was no helping him now. She watched the truck begin to swerve, _mierda,_ and realised that the driver had pulled the wheel to the left, it was going to crash! Luz had to do something, even if she didn’t particularly care about the passengers she wasn’t about to let an entire truck worth of stock be lost for her sake as much as Willows. She dropped the hatchet in her right hand to the ground and aimed her wrist at the window of the truck, firing a small cable through the window that hooked itself around the steering wheel. She gave it a tug, and the wheel turned, bringing the truck back in line with the rest of the convoy, but she could hold this forever as now she was forced to stay in one spot, facing one way, with only one weapon. She continued to swing at every insect that made its way close enough, Hooty’s friends zapping any from behind, but she could feel them biting at her legs again and she knew she would have to release it soon if she wanted to avoid being swarmed again

Luckily for Luz, she didn’t have to hold it for long. The swerving truck alerted the other guards as too the problem, and the witch had his partner climb into the driver’s seat after a quick fan of flames to clear out any insects feasting on the original driver’s corpse. With a new driver back in control, Luz retracted the cable, and turned her attention back to her own truck, grabbing her hatchet once again and continuing to hack away at the endless hoard of insects that attacked them. But, Luz was getting tired, she could feel herself slowing down. Firing the Owl cannon hadn’t been without its drawbacks and the shockwave had definitely hurt her arms, which now paired with the constant swinging was starting to take its toll. She needed to find a solution to this and fast if any of them were going to make it out alive. She debated throwing the cargo off to help speed up, but she doubted it would help and Willow would likely break a few bones if she tried it, so that was out. In that case, then, Luz could only think of one other alternative that might give them a chance to survive this, and while Willow might not be happy with it she’d rather a nasty bruise from a punch than being eaten alive. Finding a momentary break in the attack Luz turned around to face the front of the car, specifically turning her attention to the roof of the tunnel ahead of them while she drew 3 of her more powerful fire glyphs. She had learned a small variation to the design of the standard fire glyph would make it act a lot more like a grenade than just a glorified candle, and she was about to make very effective use of them. She scanned ahead of the trucks looking for one of the larger vines that held the roof up and saw one approach. She had to time this right, or risk getting crushed, so she ignored the insects that were now biting at her chest and legs. _3, 2, 1… now._ She tossed the cards with as much force as she could muster, watching them fly up and embed themselves in the flesh of the vine as the magic activated.

A second later and 3 explosions saw the supporting vine torn apart as it fell from the roof. All 3 trucks managed to avoid the raining flora as they sped forwards, and Luz watched her plan fall into place. The roof of the tunnel began to cave inwards, no longer able to support the weight above it as chunks of dirt and rock began to fall after the vines. Luckily though, the 3 trucks were already safely on the other side when the entire structure gave out, and the tunnel caved in. Luz took a moment from her insect slaying to watch it fall, the avalanche of dirt that crushed the endless wave of insects beneath it and sealed off the tunnel, leaving the convoy only a hundred or so of the demons to defeat before they were finally in the clear. And defeat them they did, losing their only advantage of numbers meant that the attackers were no longer that significant of a threat, and Luz knew that it would take a while for those baby Tolgallag’s to bury themselves through the blockade she had created. They were safe for now, and once the last of the insects were killed off Luz all but collapsed into the back of the truck, not even bother to move the corpses that she sat on while she tried to catch her breath.

They were only an hour out now, and once they arrived Luz could go home and shower, vigorously, and then go to bed. But the job wasn’t done yet, and she reluctantly put Hooty’s drones away as she forced herself to stay awake. She could never say it, or she’d never hear the end of it, but she was thankful that Hooty had been there earlier, she had been panicking and without him activating it she probably would never have remembered that the suit even had a body-wide shock feature. Maybe she’d let him run about on the internet for an hour or so as a treat later, it was the least she owed him.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, something the now exhausted guards were more thankful for, and after an hour or so the trucks pulled into another similarly large chamber, though slightly smaller since this one didn’t have as many pathways leading to it. The trucks pulled to a stop in the centre of the room and there was a weak cheer from the mercs as they tiredly removed themselves from their vehicles, followed by Willow and Luz.

 _“That was… by far the single worst trip I have ever had to make, are you ok?”_ Willow sounded just as tired as Luz, and she could see that the plant witch hadn’t come out completely unscathed either with some nasty bite marks on her arms.

_“I wouldn’t say ‘ok’ but at the very least I’m alive!”_

_“Somehow…”_

The two girls just looked at each other and laughed, something about surviving the whole ordeal just bringing it out of them both. The momentary celebration was cut short by the mercenary witch who grabbed their attention by clearing his throat. The 2 girls looked over at him and shut up quite quickly when they came face to face with 4 rifles aimed at their face.

 _“Oh for fucks sake…”_ Willow muttered as she slowly raised her hands, elbowing Luz to do the same.

 _“What exactly do you think you’re doing Sylas?”_ She shot an angry glance at the witch merc who glared at the pair.

_“Are you fucking kidding me? We just went through hell and back, lost 2 guys, and expended almost all our ammunition for this stupid job, what you’re paying us is barely gonna cover that. Nah, me and the boys reckon that we’d be better off just taking this crap and selling it ourselves, we’d make a hell of a lot more profit that way now wouldn’t we?”_

Willow simply glared back.

 _“Well, that’s dumb as shit…”_ All eyes fell to Luz, who was edging her way away from Willow.

 _“I mean, look where we are, how do you plan to get any of this out of here and back to the surface without our employer genius?”_ She continued to move, keeping their attention as she did until she believed she was far enough away. Sylas’s eyes narrowed.

_“Good point Miss assassin, I suppose we’ll have her carry it out for us before we kill her”_

_“And me?”_

_“You are going to be handed into the Coven, you have quite a bounty on your head after all, almost triple our original pay for this mission combined”_

_“Let me guess, the moment you saw me you planned this didn’t you”_

_“Something like that”_

_“Hmmm, well, I gotta say you hid that intent well! Consider me impressed”_

_“Gee thanks, that means the world to me!”_ his tone was mocking.

 _“Buuuut, you aren’t the only one who can hide bloodlust!”_ She nodded her head back to where she was originally stood, where Willow had just finished lighting another cigarette with a smile. She had drawn a spell circle with her foot, and completed it in time with lighting her smoke, that little bit of dramatic flair being what made Willow as cool as she was. Luz didn’t have to do anything, instead just standing back and letting Willow, who had been cooped up driving, stretch her legs a little as she became a titan of vines and wood that the human’s rifles had no effect against. It didn’t take her long finish them all off, including the overconfident witch who had realised quite quickly they had been watching the wrong girl. Sure, Luz was pretty dangerous when she wanted to be, but she could never be as intimidating as Willow, a factor most people overlooked. While the rogue mercs were being tossed aside, Luz relaxed. She didn’t have to help, and she knew she didn’t have to do anything after they had been dealt with either. She sent a quick text to Eda letting her know she’d probably be home sometime that evening and removed her hood, letting the jacket fold back in on itself. This had been stressful, one of the reasons why Luz really preferred assassinations, but at the very least Willow’s dads paid well. Luz could feel the exhaustion wash over her again, and this time no amount of willpower or blood-curdling screams could keep her awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done, that's 7 chapters down and they are only getting longer. This is looking good! I'll be working over the next few days, so chapter 8 may take a little longer to write, but keep yourselves posted guys I shall have it out within a week at most!


	8. A solution presented

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some Lumtiy you thirsty people you, and just cause I'm a generous overlord I'm making it a nice long one for ya

**Luz pov:**

Everything ached. Her body, mostly her legs, were covered in deep and painful bruises that sent continued pulses of pain throughout her body as she lay on her bed wishing the pain away to any god whose name she could remember. While she had been saved the horror of being torn apart by the insects that had attacked her a few days ago thanks to her suit, it had only managed to keep them from breaking the skin and did little to prevent the hideous bruising that had prevented her from even walking properly the day before.

The adrenaline of that job had been what let her keep herself moving until its eventual and slightly predictable end, but the moment she had let herself pass out underground her legs had all but abandoned her. When she had woke she was being driven home by Eda who had come out to the port to collect her, and she had then spent the next 3 days resting up in her room with the help of healing glyphs and spells. She had been paid by Willow, sending 90% of those earnings straight to her mother’s account, and now on the order of Eda was to stay in bed until the bruises had completely faded, however long that might take. She groaned as she sat up, most of her jobs usually weren’t so physically taxing and her body was making her well aware of that with every movement, but Luz hated nothing more than being stuck in her dingy little oversized closet of a bedroom. She slowly dragged her legs out from under the covers and winced at the various shades of deep purple that all but covered them before standing up. Her legs wobbled under the pressure and Luz had to grab her dresser in an attempt to stop herself from falling over, her arms not fairing that much better than her legs in that regard as they gave out and she tumbled to the floor with a yelp. _Well, that hurt._ Powered by sheer frustration and spite, Luz slowly pulled herself back onto her feet and went about her morning routine, though at a much slower pace than usual. She took a long shower, the hot water somewhat soothing the dull radiating pain within her body, and then got herself dressed. That was an embarrassing scene for anyone to watch, with Luz falling over no less than 4 times with her jeans alone before finally giving up and wearing one of her few skirts along with a simple grey shirt. That did leave her legs on display, but eh, it wasn’t like she was doing anything today besides some uni work.

Showered, dressed, and only slightly miserable, Luz took a seat in the shared living area that was currently only occupied by king and began scrolling on her phone. She absentmindedly stroked his fur as she listened to the already bustling café on the other side of the wall. She wanted to help, if for nothing more than to _do something_ , but Eda was more stubborn than she could ever hope to be, so she resigned herself to just checking her phone while a morning talk show played on the tv as background noise. She had a few messages, as she usually did after a job, but there was one number that she didn’t recognise that had contacted her. Weird.

_U: Hey! I hope I have the right number; this is Amity! It took me a few days to get your number from that young witch you hang around with since I couldn’t get it last time before you kicked me out and you haven’t shown up at the university the past few days. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m stopping by the café today so that we can discuss how I should apologise to Willow like you promised. Thank you._

Luz read the message over, both somewhat impressed and oddly embarrassed at the very formal text. She certainly hadn’t forgotten about her promise to the witch, but she also hadn’t planned to deal with it while she was this injured. Glancing at the time, she realised that she had slept in pretty late, it was already almost 7 pm and mentally slapped herself. She struggled to sleep when she was stuck indoors, probably because she was just a naturally energetic person, and that usually resulted in her days blending together. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Gus just giving away her number, considering who she was, but that was a problem for when she could walk again. She quickly typed a reply and set her phone down, looking back towards her bare legs. She had been applying dozens of healing glyphs and while they had probably saved her a broken bone or torn tendon, they had yet to directly tackle the surface issues, and over-applying them had little effect other than wasting magic. She could try and change again… No, she was not suffering through that embarrassment, not a second time, her dignity wouldn’t allow it! Instead, her eyes flicked across to an old blanket Eda kept on the arm of the sofa, a dirty grey mess that probably hadn’t been washed in years, but she really couldn’t let Amity see her legs like this, she doubted she could even find a believable excuse for it. She reached across and dragged it over her. Surprisingly, the blanket didn’t really smell that bad, pleasant even, and was free of stains despite the worn appearance… maybe that was just the natural colour? Whatever the case may be, Luz was just glad it was somewhat comfortable! Maybe Eda wasn’t quite so crazy for always using it.

**Amity pov:**

Amity made her way down the street towards the Owl house, phone in hand as she read the reply she received from Luz. A simple “K” had been her response which only served to make Amity feel like a nuisance. Was she a nuisance? She was only trying to get some advice from someone who knew Willow better than she did, it wasn’t like she was asking her to climb a mountain or something… She was dressed in a soft white shirt with pink flowers stitched across it, along with a pair of blue shorts and fishnet stockings.

And yet now, as she stood at the door to the café, she suddenly felt like she was intruding again. With a sigh, she pushed the door open to the store which was sparsely populated by some older clients and made her way inside. Behind the counter, a younger boy, probably around 18 watched her approach before giving her a smile. However, unlike Luz whose smile had seemed quite genuine while serving, this boy had to force it and just didn’t have the same welcoming energy that had made her feel so relaxed during her last visit.

_“Afternoon ma’am, welcome to the Owl house, what can I get for you”_

_“I’m here to see Luz?”_

The boys face immediately soured and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that this kid probably didn’t like the fellow employee, which she could probably understand. From her brief interactions with the girl she knew she could definitely be quite… frustrating, and yet for some reason his reaction still annoyed her.

 _“Ugh, one of_ her _friends? Fine whatever, just go through the kitchen, she’s probably in her room or something”_

She considered speaking back, making a comment on his appearance or attitude, but if she was going to come here regularly she’d be better off avoiding an argument, though she would have to make a mental note to find out what shifts he didn’t work. Instead, she chose to ignore him and made her way through into the kitchen where Eda was cleaning up. The old witch spared her guest a glance, and Owlbert flew from her shoulder to Amity, nuzzling into her cheek like usual. This time though, she was used to it and knew what she had to do as she gently petted the baby owl with her finger.

 _“Afternoon kid, you here for Luz again?”_ She nodded in response.

_“Alrighty then, she’s in the living room, first door on ya left, and take her that sandwich, I was too busy to take it to her”_

Busy huh? She didn’t look all that busy, but whatever. Amity picked up the plate and made her way out into the corridor, turning left and heading to the door that Eda had pointed out. She felt slightly bad, leaving so quickly, but it wasn’t like she had a lot to say to the old woman, and honestly, she doubted she thought any differently. Reaching the door, she knocks and this time receives an invitation inside far quicker than before, opening the door and heading inside. The room itself is pretty dark, lit only by a small window at the far end and muted tv that hangs on the wall opposite an old sofa. On that sofa is Luz, a grey blanket covering her legs and king’s head resting comfortably in her lap as she stares at Amity. While she admired the room, Owlbert flew from her shoulder onto Luz’s, startling her after she had almost forgotten about the bird even being there.

 _“Hey cabbage top, welcome back!”_ Her tone didn’t portray the same lack of interest as her text message, in fact, the girl seemed pretty pleased to see her.

 _“Hey”_ She walked in, letting the door shut behind her as she began moving across the room to take a seat besides Luz. The girl was lightly dressed compared to the last times they had met, sporting only a thin shirt that left her arms bare, and the first thing Amity noticed as she had entered was the odd bruises that lined her arms. Just a few that were dotted around her skin _, but they looked nasty_ Amity thought, an ugly deep purple colour that left a bad taste in her mouth.

 _“Thanks again for doing this, I know you think it’s a waste of time, and I know she probably won’t forgive me… but I at least want to try, now that my parents aren’t around as often”_ She looked away as she moved around a glass coffee table in the middle of the room, making sure she didn’t stand or break anything before sitting down on the sofa. Between her and Luz was king, the mass of black fur acting as a comfortable armrest for the pair as she took a moment to give the friendly dog a pet. It was then that her eyes fell on Luz’s left arm. It, like the right, was also spotted with nasty bruises, but this time it had another addition that drew Amity’s attention. A long winding tattoo ran up the length of her arm and detailed an owl nestled amongst various flowers, it’s wing’s wrapping around the flora to connect near to the bottom by her wrist. The design went further up too but was hidden by her shirt which Amity was almost disappointed by. She hadn’t even realised she was staring until Luz spoke up and snapped her out of that weird little trance.

_“Hey cabbage top, you good?”_

_“Huh? Oh right, yeah, fine, totally good!”_ She managed to stop herself before she started rambling and cleared her throat, taking a deep breath before continuing.

_“Thanks again for doing this by the way, even though you think I’m wasting my time. I errr, I like your tattoo, it’s cool!”_

_“Oh, thanks”_ The compliment seemed to catch the girl off guard, but she quickly recovered and a smirk drew across her face.

 _“I had it done a while ago, I think it’s pretty hot!”_ She didn’t even try to hide the smug tone in her voice, but it wasn’t like Amity was arguing… _wait_.

 _“Anyway, don’t worry about it, it’s not like your asking a lot from me anyway and I really needed someone other than kind to talk to!”_ She waved off Amity’s concerns with her hand, then moved it to admire her tattoo as well.

 _“I’ve been stuck inside the past days cause o- cause I was ill! Headaches yanno? Anyway, Willow’s been busy with work and Gus with school so I’ve been here all on my lonesome”_ She pouts, and Amity giggles.

 _“Well I’m happy to keep you company as long as you’re useful!”_ She considers asking about the bruises but decides against it.

 _“So let’s get right into it! We know I wanna apologise but I doubt words alone will cut it, so I was thinking a present of some kind!”_ Her suggestion is quickly considered, and Luz seems to agree.

_“That would probably work, but it would depend heavily on what you get her”_

_“She likes flowers still right? I was thinking I could get some for her…”_

_“Aren’t those kinda more of a romantic gift than an apology one?”_

_“…touché. Then what about food? Like chocolate or something?”_

_“Ehhh, Willow isn’t big on snacks anymore”_

_“Really? But she used to always have food on her. It was like one of the things I loved most back when we were friends”_

_“Yeah well, getting called chubby all through primary school by that said friend tends to change that”_

_“I never called her that myself!”_

_“But you didn’t stop it either cabbage top, guilty by association I’m afraid”_

She had no response to that and just hung her head dejectedly. It was true, while she hadn’t ever directly attacked or insulted Willow, she had also never even tried to defend her, and that thought alone wracked her with guilt. Luz seemed to pick up on that though and quickly tried to move the conversation forward which she appreciated.

 _“W-what about clothes… no that wouldn’t work even I can’t say I know her style, it seems to change every week!”_ She rested her chin on her right palm and sighed, trying to come up with something that would work.

_“Jewellery? Books? Video games? Gift cards!?”_

_“No, no, definitely not, and only if you want to get turned into fertilizer”_

_“Ugh, then what DOES she like!”_

_“I… I’m not sure”_ She could hear the sympathy in the girl's voice, it seemed she was just as annoyed at Willows difficulty to buy for as herself.

_“Well what do you get her for Christmas? Or her birthday?”_

_“Errr, usually just gag gifts? When she likes you she’ll happily accept anything, but it’s a different story when you’re trying to make up for years of bad blood…”_

Amity sighed as she buried her face into her palms. She hadn’t expected this to be easy, but it had barely been 15 minutes and she was running out of ideas! Maybe this was a waste of time, maybe Willow wouldn’t accept anything from her anyway and she was just throwing away time and money!

No, she wasn’t doing this because she was certain Willow would forgive her, she was doing this because it was the right thing to do. Because she wanted Willow to know she _was_ sorry, even if she didn’t earn that forgiveness. But, she’d still rather get a gift Willow wanted rather than something she was going to bin almost immediately, so she continued to think. She must have been stewing in her own thoughts a while though because once again it was Luz who had to snap her back to reality.

 _“Yanno… I know_ something _that would probably work, but there are a few issues with it”_ That alone grabbed Amity’s attention, and she turned back to the girl sat beside her.

_“What! What is it?!”_

_“Hey, chill!”_ She took a deep breath.

 _“Ok, look, what I’m gonna suggest_ would _work, she’d 100% forgive you, I know that for a fact buuuuut…”_ Amity continued to stare at her in anticipation

_“The item in question can’t be bought, nor easily found. It’s a plant, an extremely rare one that her family haven’t been able to get their hands on but have wanted for years. One of the very very few plants not in their collection. If you could get it for her she’d probably forgive you murdering her dads or something stupid like that”_

_“Just a plant? That’s it? I can do that, where do I find it!”_

_“Well that’s the catch ya see… the flower is extremely rare, I know where one is thanks because of a con- friend! A friend told me where I could find it. The problem is where it is, and that would be…… on the right knee”_ Amity’s hope almost completely drained away as the location of the flower was revealed. The knee, why did it have to be the _fucking_ knee!

The isles that the witch race reside on is home to many oddities and irregularities. It's considered the sole font of magic for every witch on the planet, it acts as its own little biosphere, it houses some extremely odd weather, but by far one of the first and most well-known quirks of the island is its shape. Shaped like a gigantic person, the ‘Knees’ make up a vast mountain range that encircles the northern parts of the island and are almost completely uncharted. Prone to sudden and powerful blizzards that could drop the temperature to well below freezing, and home to countless deadly and aggressive creatures, the left and right knee pose as one of the world’s most deadly locations. Going up there, even halfway, to find a single flower? She was desperate, but not suicidal.

_“So that’s impossible then… why even suggest it, there’s no way I could get up there alone to find it, I’d freeze to death or get eaten by some giant polar werebear or something!”_

_“Look, it wouldn’t be easy, sure, but it wouldn’t be impossible, it’s not like it’s right at the very top or anything! That being said, it certainly_ is _dangerous, so we’ll have to be properly prepared for it if we’re gonna stand a chance”_

 _“Like I sai- wait, we?”_ She had to double back on that one, was Luz seriously volunteering to follow her up one of the most dangerous mountains in the world so she could apologise? Was she insane? She lifted her head as she spoke and looked back over to the human who had a bright smile plastered across her face.

 _“Yup, I’ll come with you! Always wanted to try hiking yanno?”_ Yup, she was insane!

 _“Course, you’ll owe me one, but if you’re willing to do this just to apologise to that plant-loving moron, then I’m willing to help!”_ Luz held up a hand for her to shake, presumably to see the deal she had just proposed, and while her mention of a favour left Amity a little worried there was no way in hell she was going to pass up someone helping her do this. Still, this was a stupidly big risk to take just for an apology, and all the logic in her brain was screaming at her to absolutely NOT shake that hand, but she ignored it. She had spent her life protected and safe, she wanted to take a risk for once and here this girl was offering her the opportunity.

_“Deal!”_

**Luz pov:**

Another few days had passed since then, and every day in between had seen Amity visiting the café as the pair began to plan their ascent of the mountain, and Luz had found herself weirdly enjoying the company. It was nice talking to someone different from Willow and Gus, and she found that Amity was equally as easy to talk to as they were. Their talks were usually pretty goal-orientated, focused entirely on their upcoming ascent, but occasionally Luz managed to get the witch to open up a little. She’d talk about her interests, _drawing mostly,_ or about her favourite foods, _Thornberry tart,_ or about her friends, _turns out strawberry had a good side to her too!_ Luz enjoyed those moments when she dropped her guard and was no longer one of the spoilt rich kids. It was too bad then that once Amity got this flower she’d no longer need a reason to talk to Luz, and that left some weird emotions flying around in her head.

Luz wasn’t entirely sure why she had agreed to this after Amity had left that day Luz had spent the remainder of it screaming at herself in the mirror for being stupid enough to volunteer for it. Sure, as the Owl assassin Luz was pretty confident she could make her way up to where the flower was, she could be fast, mobile, and quiet, and her suit would keep her reasonably warm. She’d be well-armed, well protected and well prepared… But the owl assassin wasn’t the one who had promised to ascend the mountain with Amity, no that honour belonged to Luz, Luz the stupid human who now had to climb it with regular clothes, no decent weapons and with a sheltered witch partner that was probably going to do more harm than good!

But she had promised, and regardless of what sense came to her afterwards, she wasn’t just going to duck out on the witch after she had given her hope. Honestly, she had planned to grab that flower for herself and use it as a get out of jail free card if she ever fucked up one of the Parks family jobs, but after seeing the green-topped girl look so utterly deflated at all her ideas being shot down that caring side of her that she tried so desperately to stuff away had crawled its ass back to the surface. Now, on a Monday morning, Luz sat at the base of the mountain with a pack almost as large as herself as she waited for her new hiking partner to show. She had spare clothing, food and a number of other basic supplies that she hoped would make this little journey a little more bearable, but for some reason, she felt like she was forgetting something. Against better judgement, Luz also brought the small pack that she wore around her waist that contained numerous pre-drawn glyphs. It was a risk to be sure, if Amity saw them she would have one hell of a time trying to explain it, but Luz was absolutely not going up this death trap of a mountain with just a knife.

She had been sat there for almost 30 minutes before Amity finally showed up in an expensive-looking black car. She got out, tugging along a pack somehow larger than her own and gave Luz a wave as she made her way over. The mountain itself was a good few hours drive from the nearest town, and the pair had agreed to meet at the base along the road that came closest to its incline. The two of them were dressed in warmer clothing, Amity much more so than Luz, but did so rightly since they were still at the base of the mountain and already Luz could feel the cold biting at her fingers.

 _“Hey, sorry I’m late I had to get all this stuff out of my house without my siblings seeing, it was a nightmare! I’m actually kinda surprised you’re here on time, you didn’t strike me as particularly punctual”_ She came to a stop beside her, taking a moment to adjust her clothing a little as she spoke.

_“What the hell is that supposed to mean?! I’ll have you know I’m almost never late to anything, my mami raised me right!”_

_“Uh-huh. So, I know you’re here now but are you really sure this is a good idea? I mean, I appreciate the help and I think we’ve pretty much accounted for any kinda big problem we run into but…”_

_“It’ll be fine cabbage top, relax. Once we get the flower we can leave, in and out, 5-minute adventure!”_

_“This trip is going to take us 2 days Luz…”_

_“…In and out, 2-day adventure!”_

Amity sighed, then shouldered her pack and began walking up towards the mountain, with Luz following closely behind. The first part of this journey wasn’t going to be too difficult, there were a number of paths carved out into the incline by the animals that lived on its surface, ones that could quite easily fit a human and witch though whether or not that was good news was something still up for debate. On top of that, the most dangerous creatures rarely ventured down the mountain proper, so the two could probably have a fairly uneventful first day. The two continued their walk, the incline slowly increasing as they went, and made some light conversation as they did so.

_“I gotta say cabbage, that is some nice stuff you got. Is it all brand new by any chance, little miss perfect ever even been camping before, let alone hiking?”_

_“So what if it is, I still know how to use it all it’s not like it’s hard!”_ Was she pouting at that?

_“Hey, I believe you, I’m just jealous that all my crap is 10 years old at best is all”_

_“That doesn’t sound very reliable Luz, especially considering this isn’t just a normal mountain”_

_“Ahhh I’ll be fine! If anything happens to me my reliable partner here will take care of me right?”_

_“Maybe, or maybe I’d take my flower and use you as bait to make a valiant escape! Depends on my mood really”_

_“I’m hurt cabbages, here I thought we had been bonding these past few days! Yanno, you’re gonna have to get used to me if you’re looking to befriend Willow again, we’re kind of a package deal nowadays!”_ That, for some reason, shut her up for a minute or so.

_“We’ll see, you aren’t as bad as Boscha made you out to be at least, but I could still do without the nickname…”_

_“Wait, seriously? I’m gonna get myself a rich bestie! Ooooh, I can’t wait for you to treat me to all the fancy food I could ever want!”_ Amity laughed at that, something Luz reckoned she didn’t do often enough.

_“Sorry Luz, but I must be the only ‘rich kid’ that isn’t actually rich. My parent’s don’t actually give me any money, I have to work for it at their company, so while I may have nice clothes the reality is I’m no richer than you!”_

_“Wha- then what the hell was the point of all this!”_ She grumbled to herself as she walked.

By now they had started along the first dirt path leading up the edge of the mountain, the snow already settling around them despite them barely being 5 minutes up. It crunched underfoot as they went, a gentle breeze helping stop the pair from overheating in their oversized coats. The wilderness of the isles was often considered to be some of the most serene landscapes in all the world, and when Luz had first arrived on the Isles she wasted no time is sneaking out to explore the woods around the city. That had been a mistake. While her first venture was pretty picturesque, she had barely survived her second one…

_Luz made her way between 2 towering evergreens, the morning sun obscured by a thick fog. Still, Luz didn’t mind the cold winds that caused, she had her hoodie on and if she kept her hands in her pockets she barely noticed it. She walked along the undergrowth, the leaves crunching underfoot as she continued to explore her surroundings. When her mother had first shipped her out here she had been dreading it, but Mami had also failed to mention just how BEAUTIFUL this island was. The sun, usually, was bright and full of like, and no matter where you looked nature was truly breath-taking. Flowers would sport every colour under the sun, every tree was huge, every lake sat perfectly to reflect the sun in the most dazzling of ways. The entirety of the isles was truly enchanting, which made Luz being the only person out here exploring all the stranger._

_A light rain had started now and helped to amplify the fresh and earthy air that Luz adored. She was looking for a small lake she had spotted on google maps and had been searching for about an hour, longer than she had told Eda she would be, but she doubted she would care. She clambered over a large rock and then dropped down a small incline and finally saw it, a small lake ahead beyond some trees, the fog rolling over its mirror-like surface in an almost ethereal way. She rushed forward, making an awful lot of noise, before coming to the water's edge and dropping to her knees. She looked into the perfectly still water and saw her own wide-eyed reflection staring back, both of them with big giddy smiles on their faces as they admired the view. She sat back and brought out her phone, she had to get some pictures for her Mami, she couldn’t wait until they could come here together, hell she’d even let Eda tag along too!_

_Crunch_

_Maybe they could bring king, he’d finally started warming up to her after all, once she saw him staring at a ham sandwich she had made she knew how she could get on his good side!_

_Crunch_

_Talking of pets, Eda was considering getting an actual owl for her café and she was letting Luz pick the name! What could she call it? Owly, Nah that was too obvious… Archimedes maybe, like from the ‘sword in the stone’? No, she wanted it to be original!_

_Crunch, Crunch, Crunch_

_Robert maybe… No, but close. Robert the owl… Owl Robert… Owlbert! That was it, that name would be perfect!_

**_Crunch…_ **

_…and this time Luz heard it. She froze up, she had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t been paying attention! Slowly she turned her head to look behind her and felt all the joy of the situation leave instantly, replaced by dread. Behind her stood a demon that in many ways resembled a bear, this one with coal-black fur that ended in blood-red tints. Her eyes ventured upwards to its torso, a mass of muscle that connected to 2 massive paws that ended in claws as large as kitchen knives. Then her eyes ventured further, the head of the beast that stood behind her. It was staring down at her, its cold black eyes felt like they were piercing into her very soul, but that wasn’t the sight that snapped Luz out of her trance, no that was the dead wolf-like demon that hung in its gaping more, blood dripping down mere inches from Luz. The fear that clung to Luz was like a weight tied around her ankles, and yet she knew she had to move. Demons didn’t behave like regular animals, they were smarter, faster, far more dangerous, and Luz already knew that she was about to die. So this is why she was the only one out here…_

_And now she was running, having managed to dodge a heavy swipe of the beast’s claws and scramble to her feet she bolted back into the woods, maybe she could reach the road before it caught her! She glanced back and watched the demon calmly tear its previous meal in half, tossing the part it didn’t devour into the lake. Then, it turned towards Luz and watched her run, dropping down onto all fours and with a terrifying roar started bounding after her, the ground shaking with each heavy step. It must have been at least as fast as a car though because it caught up to Luz almost instantly, a single swipe sending the 14-year-old flying into the trunk of a nearby tree with a sickening snap before collapsing in a pile on the ground. It hurt, it really fucking hurt, the pain was unbearable, and she wanted to scream, to call for help but no noise came out of her throat. She could only watch the beast approach slowly, could only feel the lukewarm red liquid pouring from her gut as it stained her clothing and skin. She wanted to run, but that single attack had rendered her body as about as useful as a horse with no legs. Shit, shit, she never should have come out here, shit! She closed her eyes and waited for the beast the finish its dessert… only to hear a deafening series of howls. She opened her eyes again to watch the massive bear suddenly swarmed by a dozen of the same wolf-like demons she had seen it eating moments earlier, and this time it seemed to be losing. It stumbled back under the series of claws and bites before dropping down again and bounding away through the forest. Leaving Luz alone with the wolves. Great, one demon for another, talk about cruel._

_And yet her end never came, again interrupted but this time by a voice, a female voice and a young one at that, but Luz didn’t have time to ever see her rescuer, as her body passed out moments later._

Ever since then Luz had often preferred staying safely within the limits of the cities, only venturing out when with someone else, at first Eda and then later Willow. It had been a traumatic experience, to say the least, but she had learned who her rescuer was a little later on thanks to Eda, and now the two of them were also pretty good friends.

_“Err, you ok Luz? You’re kind of zoning out”_

_“Huh? Oh, sorry, just remembering something is all, my second ever solo outing into the wilderness as a kid!”_

_“As a kid?! Did you run around out here alone as a child?_ _Were you trying to get yourself killed!?”_

_“No! I was new to the isles, nobody had bothered to explain that demons to me, it wasn’t my fault!”_

_“You didn’t find it strange you were the only one out there?”_

_“I… Shut up”_

_“That’s what I thought. So what happened? You said you were remembering it, were you attacked or something? I can’t imagine so, you’re still alive after all”_

_“I was attacked actually, I’m just so awesome I was able to single-handedly beat back the demon all on my own!”_

_“Riiiiight, sure you were!”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“I was attacked by a Goliath bear alright? And I was saved by a demon tamer, but not until it had managed to hit me once already. If it weren’t for her I would be dead”_

Amity stopped dead in her tracks and Luz almost walked straight into her. She was staring at Luz with wide eyes, and it was kinda creeping her out.

_“How old were you?”_

_“What? 14, why?”_

_“You survived a Goliath bear at 14 years old? Holy shit Luz…”_

_“Like I said, ‘survive’ is a strong term for it, I got lucky that’s all”_

_“Still! Luz, there are grown witches that haven’t survived those things, regardless of whether or not you were saved doesn’t change that you managed to survive being hit by one! Are they as terrifying as they say they are? With the claws and the red fur and stuff!”_

The witch made little motions to go along with her questions, and it helped drag Luz out of the sudden pessimistic mood she had found herself in.

_“I… Yeah! They’re huge, black fur with red tints, big ol claws, they got the whole predator thing pretty down pat! Sure, I wasn’t particularly tall for a 14-year-old, but it was still able to throw me like 30 feet with a single swipe, I was recovering for weeks!”_

_“Woah…”_

_“What’s the matter Cabbages? You actually worried for little ol me?”_

_“What? No! I just, I don’t know, it sounds exciting. Dangerous sure, but still exciting. My entire childhood was spent indoors studying, and the few times I was allowed out to play I had to do it with specific people that I didn’t even really like”_ Her tone had gotten more downtrodden as she spoke, and now Luz felt a little bad. Bad for steering the conversation in that direction yeah, but also because she had kind of just assumed that every rich kid had an easy life which quite clearly was not the case.

_“Yeah I know, studying to be successful isn’t horrible, I never had to worry about where I lived, or what I was going to eat. I got the best clothes and excellent tutors but… It just felt fake. Anyway, sorry, not trying to bring the mood down, it’s just you shared something about you so I figured I should do the same!”_

_“Yeah errr, thanks”_

The two kept walking, an uncomfortable silence falling between them that neither of them was willing to break, and it stayed that way until they reached a small plateau that was carved into the side of the cliff, the first and only spot on the mountain that was public knowledge for any risk-taking hikers to camp for the night. It was sheltered from the wind, and large enough that several tents could be set up comfortably once the settled snow had been brushed aside, which the two girls did so quickly. Once an area large enough was clear they both agreed to go and set up their own tents, Luz taking a quick toilet break before starting on her own. When she came back though, it was to the sounds of an increasingly frustrated sounding witch.

_“What the fu- Where the hell does this bit go?! I swear I just used that part for the entrance?”_

The sheer confusion in the girl's voice made Luz laugh, she was no expert at camping herself, but she had been a few times, enough so that she could at least pitch a tent on her own. She lent against the cave wall for roughly a minute and just watched her partner struggle before finally stepping in.

_“You realise that is entirely the wrong part right?”_

_“Wha- Shut up! If you can find the time to stand there and watch me suffer you can help”_

_“But I thought my friendly vegetable was confident that ‘it can’t be that hard’ right?”_

_“I swear to the titan Luz no one will find your body up here”_

_“Alright, alright, hang on see you’ve got the wrong piece…”_

She helped Amity set up her tent, a pretty small one compared to what she had been expecting, but still larger than the one she had brought. With the tent set up she left Amity to start setting up a campfire and made her way back over to her pack and began ruffling through it in search of her own tiny little one-person tent. Then she searched again, and again, and again, until eventually she just stood up, hands-on hips as she stared at her bag, the realisation dawning on her.

_“Huh…”_

_“What?”_

_“Ok so, small problem, and hear me out here cause I swear it wasn’t my fault…”_

_“You don’t have a tent do you?”_

_“Nope!”_ She clicked her tongue and shot Amity some finger guns.

_“Oh for fucks sake Luz!”_

_“It’s fine, it’s fine, I still have a sleeping bag I’ll just sleep out here!”_

_“Don’t be stupid, it gets increasingly windy late at night, you’ll freeze, you can share with me”_

_“Huh?”_

_“What? I said you can share my tent, or what do you just hate me that much that you can’t stand sleeping next to me for a night?”_

Luz wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, she didn’t know why she was suddenly very against sharing a tent with the girl and really couldn’t think of a good excuse why they shouldn’t.

_“No, it’s not that, I just figured you’d want your privacy yanno? I’m pretty sure I snore!”_

_“I’ve had to share a room with Edric, my twin, before, believe me, I doubt you can compare to that horrific noise”_

It should be fine right? It’s just one night, they were both girls so what’s the harm?

_“Then sure, I guess if you’re ok with it anyway…”_

_“I mean I wouldn’t have a tent either right now if you hadn’t helped me set it up, so it’s the least I owe you”_

_“…Errr, well I’m gonna go find some wood for the fire alright? I’ll be like 20 minutes probably, any later than that and you can assume I’ve been eaten!”_ She began walking backwards as she spoke and didn’t give Amity a chance to respond before disappearing around the corner of the cliff face and heading back down the trail into the woods.

 _Great. Now it just looks like I’ve run away, the fuck is wrong with me today?_ Luz aimlessly wandered among the trees picking up any loose branches or twigs as she went, kicking the odd rock and hopping over the occasional stream as she continued to waste time before returning to the camp. Right now she just wanted to be alone. _Wait, why am I avoiding going back?_ She came to yet another stream and stopped, dropping into a squat with one of the sticks she had collected to poke the water and watch the water curve around the wood, staying like that for about 10 minutes as the sunset. As she continued to question her own actions though her eyes wandered across the stream to the snow that lay on the other side, and all of a sudden she snapped back to reality. On the other side of the stream was a paw print, or rather a series of them that went up further into the mountain. The prints themselves were huge, and Luz had an uneasy feeling that she knew what had made them. Regardless though, the prints were heading both away from the camp and up the mountain edge, so they would probably be safe for tonight. With a sigh she stood back up and turned back towards the direction of their camp, sparing a final glance behind her before heading back. She didn’t want to be alone out here anymore

When she finally returned to camp, Amity had set up a small fire close to the tent and was sat by it cooking some canned food. As she saw her return she gave a little wave, which Luz returned as she walked over and took a seat nearby.

_“So, you just forget that I said I’d bring fuel for a fire orrrr?”_

_“Oh, yup, totally forgot! My bad, but hey now we have sticks for smores!”_

_“You brought marshmallows? Really?”_

_“What, it’s camping, you can’t go camping without marshmallows!”_

_“Luz this is one of the most dangerous mountains in the world, it’s not exactly a smores situation”_

_“See, you say that, and yet you are already cleaning a stick”_ Amity had indeed already taken one of the sticks from the pile and was wiping it down on her trouser leg.

_“Well, you brought them now, no point wasting them!”_

_“Uh-huh, just pass me the soup”_

The two ate their lunch before and chatted a while by the light of the fire, and it wasn’t until the sun had set properly that the pair decided it was time to sleep.

 _“Alright, wait here, I’m gonna get changed”_ Luz just nodded.

Amity made her way into the tent, zipping it up behind her. Luz sat by the now dying campfire, poking away at the embers as she listened to the shuffling sound behind her. Once she was done she came back out, shivering a little from the cold. She was dressed in green pyjamas that matched the colour of her hair, along with a pink and white Hexside hoody for a little extra warmth. 

_“Alright, just hurry up cause it is freezing out here without all those clothes on!”_

_“Sure, hold on a sec!”_

Luz entered the tent where the two bedrolls had been laid out side by side. For a single person, the tent would have been comfortably large, plenty of room to move about and store your stuff, but with two people it became a far more cramped situation. She hurriedly got dressed into her own sleeping attire. Luz didn’t really own any pyjamas, so instead threw on sports bra and vest, along with a pair of shorts. Not exactly the ideal clothing for cold weather, but Luz had never really minded the cold that much and the longer she was in the bedroll for the warmer she’d get. The downside to this though, was that her bruises were now visible again. They had healed considerably since last time, the ones on her arms almost completely gone, but the ones on her legs had been so numerous that they still stood out. She slid into her sleeping bag and gave Amity the ok to come in herself. As she entered, she looked Luz over, her eyes going over her arms mostly which didn’t surprise her. She had shown herself to be fairly concerned with the countless bruises that lined her arms during their daily trip planning sessions, and Luz had had to fervently explain that Eda was lovely and did not hit her on more than one occasion. She had given the excuse that she got into lots of fights, and that seemed believable enough, at least for now. In addition to the bruises, her tattoo was also now on further display and Amity seemed pretty interested in examining it as she wrapped herself up into her own sleeping bag.

_“Areee you going to warm enough like that?”_

_“Yeah, should be”_

_“And you were going to sleep outside like that?”_

_“Y-yeah?”_

_“You don’t have any common sense do you?”_

_“What! That’s rich coming from the person who couldn’t even set up a tent and managed to burn themselves while making smores!”_

_“Hey, the stick caught fire it wasn’t my fault, you should have found better sticks, and at least I actually brought a tent, unlike someone!”_ She stuck her tongue out at Luz, a gesture she found oddly endearing.

 _“Psh, I never said I had any, I’ll even admit you saved me a lot of trouble, I’m just pointing out that you_ also _do not have any common sense!”_

 _“Yeah well you saved me too I guess, I did need help with the tent, and your way of making smores was way easier than mine. It seems like we can cover each other’s asses pretty well huh, we make a good team!”_ She nudged Luz with her elbow as she giggled, and Luz felt her mood improve significantly.

_“Yeah, we do”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned to see how I decided to fuck this nice little trip!
> 
> In other news, I'm likely going to slow down how often I release these chapters to about once a week, probably around Thursday night/friday morning.
> 
> Love you all, thanks for the comments they make my day, and every kudos gives me a small mood boost that makes my day just a little bit better! Thank you all


	9. Snow day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, you had the chill chapter, time to start trying my hand at weird and complex relationships!   
> Honestly, I'm starting to realise that my dialogue is what lacks in most of these chapters, but that's alright, I can live with it. I hope you fine folks enjoy the new chapter, the next one is packing the fun stuff I promise.
> 
> In other news, I have just finished reading immortal Devotion and I FUCKING LOVED IT. Seriously if you haven't read it yet, go do it, it's an amazing AU, and they have pictures! I want pictures! I wish I could draw :(

**Amity pov:**

The first thing Amity noticed when she woke up was the sheer cold that enveloped her. It bit at her skin and she instinctively shrunk down into her sleeping bag, her only barrier between herself and the cold. It took her a moment, but eventually, she remembered where exactly she was! She was on one of the most dangerous mountains on the isles, hell in the _world_ , looking for a flower so that she could apologise to a very old friend who probably couldn’t care less what gift she might bring her after the horrible things she did to her. Knowing her luck this was probably all pointless, and she was up here freezing her ass off for no reason whatsoever, why did she agree to do this again? Perhaps it was the fact she wasn’t fully awake yet or just the sheer absurdity of the situation from a logical standpoint, but as she lay there wrapped in her linen cocoon she couldn’t help but giggle to herself. By the time she stopped, she was fully awake. She was halfway up here now so she might as well finish this and just hope that this whole gift idea works out, and besides, this little trip had other benefits.

Her eyes ventured down to the human lying beside her who was half out of her own bag and sprawled out like a starfish. Unlike her, Luz seemed to be impervious the cold and dressed accordingly, and while Amity had been mildly concerned that she would freeze to death during the night, seeing her fast asleep in nothing but a vest and shorts quickly put those worries to bed. Her attention was drawn to the tattoo that covered her left side; the illustrated garden of flowers drawn across her skin. Amity had never held tattoos in high regard, often the only people she saw with them were the dredges of society, people she had been better off avoiding, and more often than not they were poor quality at best. Honestly though, now that she could get a closer look at it, Amity found that Luz’s ink was different. It beautiful, intricately drawn and adorned with vibrant colours that stood out against her darker skin, stretching all the way down to the centre of her stomach. She noticed that along with the owl on her shoulder, the tattoo also held a selection of other animals hidden amongst the foliage, the most notable of which is a fox and a wolf playing that were half-hidden under her vest. The wolf, she noticed, resembled the dog kept at the café… King was it? With the white markings over his face being identical. Once she realised that, Amity began to piece together just what the tattoo might have been representing. If the wolf was King, and the Owl represented Eda, then perhaps the other animals were supposed to be symbolic of other people too!

She wanted to get a better look at the 2 canines on her stomach, both drawn in excruciating detail, and almost didn’t realise that her hand was unconsciously moving towards the human’s vest. However, over the past few days, Amity had asked several times about the tattoo, and while Luz would be happy to describe it, she was never willing to actually just show it, which amity assumed was mostly due to it crossing her chest. Well, that and she had stated on multiple occasions that the tattoo was private, the parts revealed less so sure, but she wasn’t exactly jumping at the idea of revealing it to someone she barely knew. And yet, here was a golden opportunity for Amity to satiate her curiosity without Luz ever knowing! It was then that Amity saw her own hand moving out the corner of her eye, suddenly quite aware of what it is she was about to do as she managed to stop herself, her fingers hovering mere inches from the girl’s vest. _She wouldn’t mind, right? It was just a little peek; not like she was looking at anything indecent!_ Her hand inched closer. _Just one look, Luz would be none the wiser!_ Her hand inched closer still, and when her fingertips could barely brush the edge of the fabric Luz finally spoke up.

_“Good morning to you too…”_

The sudden voice sent Amity sprawling backwards with a gasp, pulling away her hand like it had been sat in open flames. Red in the face, she turned to face Luz who had quickly pushed herself onto her elbows and was now staring at Amity suspiciously.

 _“O-Oh heyyyy, morning to you too! I didn’t think you were awake, you should have said something!”_ She was desperately trying to buy herself some time to think of an excuse for what Luz just saw, but Luz was far too fast to answer with a question of her own.

 _“Well I was about to until I noticed you staring at me, I was curious so I stayed quiet. But then you started reaching for my vest and I’ll be honest that was a little weird, wanna maybe explain why you were looking to undress me cabbages?”_ Her tone, unlike yesterday, was now filled with distrust, and for some reason, that got under Amity’s skin.

 _“I-I-I was just, I mean I was trying to- I was going to…”_ She went silent for a moment, trying to formulate the sentence in her head in a way that wouldn’t make her seem _excessively creepy._

 _“I was just curious about the tattoo, that’s all, I wanted to get a better look at the animals…”_ Probably best to just be honest right?

Luz stared at her a little longer, frown plastered across her face as her eyes quickly glanced down at her exposed stomach. She stayed still for a moment longer, as if deciding on her next move as Amity waited on bated breath. Slowly, Luz’s hand reached to her stomach and pulled her vest down, covering what had previously been exposed, turning her attention back to Amity with her frown still present.

 _“Yanno, I could have sworn I said I wasn’t ready to show you that yet… I’m not a painting for you to view at your leisure, you don’t just get to help yourself”_ Amity didn’t really realise it till that moment until its absence was made painfully clear to her, but over the past week or so Luz had allowed herself to take a softer tone with the witch, a friendlier tone. But now? Now her words were cold, whatever trust might have been developing very quickly shot down, that friendly tone lost.

 _“Look, I’m sorry, really! I didn’t mean to cross any boundaries I just… I don’t know I thought it’d be ok to just have quick look, it’s just a tattoo!”_ And there was mistake number two, the moment those words left her mouth Luz’s frown turned to a scowl.

They sat in awkward silence for a while, Luz simply staring at her for what felt like an eternity before finally moving. She grabbed her clothes and stood up, _well as much as she could in this tiny tent anyway,_ and moved to the door, unzipping it and stepping out and zipping it mostly back up, stopping only briefly to address her before leaving.

_“The weathers only going to get worse, get dressed we need to leave soon if we’re going to find that stupid flower”_

And then Amity was alone, alone with her thoughts, and alone to deal with whatever kind of reaction _that_ was supposed to be! As she started getting dressed, she tried to process exactly what had just happened. She wouldn’t call Luz a friend, they barely knew each other, but they were at least friendly! They could talk to each other easily enough, the past few days were proof enough of that, and Amity had felt more at ease with the waitress than she did in her own home. Luz had her problems sure, she was blunt, snide, a little indifferent at times, and by the titan did she hate that nickname… But despite all of that she had started warming up to the human, and she had thought the same might be happening the other way round. Luz had been slowly warming up to her too, growing less tense with each visit, a little more open with each shared interest. But now? Now Amity felt like she just destroyed an entire weeks’ worth of effort because she just _HAD_ to see the stupid tattoo! That’s all it was, a tattoo, why the hell was Luz so protective over it anyway? People normally get tattoos _for_ people to look at, getting one just to hide makes basically no sense!

No, Amity was just making excuses again, she was more than aware that Luz wasn’t ready to share the tattoo

 _“I’m sorry Luz, I- I didn’t mean to upset you, or freak you out or anything, I know I crossed a line even if I’m not sure how. So, I’m sorry, really”_ She spoke up so that Luz, on the other side of the door, could hear her over the winds outside. She listened carefully, hearing the quiet shuffling stop momentarily only to restart soon after with no intention of a reply. Great. With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself up and finished getting dressed before stepping outside alongside Luz and oh boy, this didn’t look good.

Outside the cold was ever more prevalent, accompanied by strong winds that likely would have upturned the tent had it not been sheltered by the enclave. There had been heavy snowfall overnight and already it piled up to their knees and to make matters worse the path leading further up the mountain had been all but buried.

 _“You’ve got to fucking kidding me…”_ She muttered under her breath which drew a glance from Luz.

_“Relax, it’s not as bad as it looks. We can still get the flower, it’s not much further now anyway. But before all of that, I’m hungry so I’m gonna eat something, I recommend you do to”_

Amity watched her turn around and head back into the tent while she stood there, letting the cold wind bite at her face and ears. She was right of course, she really did need to eat, so despite the awkward tension she was expecting she entered the tent shortly after. The 2 girls sat cross-legged across from each other as they ate, Luz making a point to not acknowledge Amity while she did. Amity on the other hand, decided to keep trying to spark a conversation. She didn’t like the uncomfortable silence that covered the tent and was determined to break it one way or another.

_“So what’s the plan for today?”_

_“Same as it was yesterday”_

_“Have you ever climbed the mountains before?”_

_“Nope”_

_“It’s pretty cold now huh, a lot worse than yesterday!”_

_“Yup”_

Again and again, she was shot down, either with uninterested answers or single word responses that left no room for continuation. Eventually, she gave up, even she could tell when she really wasn’t wanted and just considered herself lucky that Luz wasn’t going to abandon her up on this stupid mountain. Not that that was ever a possibility she assumed, even if she hated her now Luz wasn’t just going to let her die, she wasn’t a killer.

After they both finished eating they set about attempting to pack away the tent, though they both quickly realised it was a fruitless endeavour, instead of packing up everything but the tent and abandoning it to the enclave as they turned towards the buried road.

 _“Ok so, just push through?”_ She asked

 _“No, we can’t see the edge of the trail, it’s not safe, we need to clear it out somehow…”_ Luz responded, seemingly deep in thought.

_“I could just melt it…”_

_“Melt it? In these winds and at this temperature?”_

_“S-sure, shouldn’t be too hard!”_

_“You don’t sound too sure Blight, but if you wanna give it a go be my guest”_ Blight? Why was her last name somehow more insulting that _cabbage top_ when it came to the human's lips!

_“What, you think I can’t? You think I’m just some prissy princess that can’t handle myself?”_

_“Your words not mine Blight”_ Alright that pissed her off

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“Fine, but if I_ do _do it, you stop calling me ‘Blight’!”_

_“Your own name bothers you now? You’d rather I go back to cabbages?”_

_“I don’t care what you use, just not that, so yes or no Luz?”_

_“…Fine, but if you can’t you owe me 50 snails”_

_“Wha- 50 snails?! No way, I’ll do 25”_

_“35 and I want that chocolate bar you have”_

_“My choc- You know what, fine! We have a deal then?”_ Luz just shrugged

 _“Sure, go ahead Blight, clear our path!”_ Was she mocking her?

Clear a path huh? Clear a fucking path? Oh, she was about to clear a fucking path alright, hell maybe she might just melt the entire fucking mountain while she was at it, that’d show her! She stomped out into the wind and snow, situating herself at the bottom of the path and removing her gloves. Almost instantly they began to numb, but it was fine, they were gonna be nice and toasty in about 30 seconds anyway. Sure, she spent most of her time studying abomination magic, but that meant nothing because fire magic? That shit just _clicked._ Carefully Amity began to draw out a single large spell circle in front of her, then a smaller one within that. Quickly, and with such precision that even Lilith could be proud of, she layered multiple fire spells on top of one another until an extraordinarily complex circle sat in front of her. She took a step back, outstretched her palm, and activated it alongside her wristbands that were tucked beneath her sleeves. She just kept mistakes today huh.

From her palm burst forth a tidal wave of searing flames that almost immediately began their battle with the icy winds. The flames, powered by her father’s gift, were potent, hotter than anything Amity would normally be able to produce, and they pushed against the snow and wind at a steady pace. She was going to do this, incinerate every spec of snow this side of the mountain if it killed her. No one mocked, no one. She pushed further, willing the flames to push harder, burn brighter, and she could herself making quick progress, she could do this, she was so close! Unfortunately, though, she was so focused on maintaining the fire that she didn’t hear Luz shouting behind her. See, what Amity didn’t realise was that the flames were quickly piling up as they collided with the strong winds, reaching higher and higher up as they began to lick at the edge of the overhang above her, the overhang that held a significant amount of snow on it.

It wasn’t until a small drop of snow landed just in front of her that she finally dared to look up above her, her eye’s widening in time to see a mass of snow come barrelling towards her from above. Fuck, she had caused an avalanche… _fuck._ Could she conjure an abomination in time? No, not one strong enough to stop that much snow from driving her off the edge of the cliff. Could she run? Impossible, if she stopped casting now that fire that had built up would be blown directly back into her face, and even if she managed to stay conscious through that she doubted she’d make it far enough to avoid the snow anyway. Was this it? Had she, Amity Blight, in a desperate plea to prove herself just inadvertently ended her own life? What a pathetic way to go…

But that was as far as Amity’s acceptance of death got because suddenly Luz was beside her… well behind her, an arm wrapped around her waist as she used Amity as a pole to spin around and gain momentum. As she slid around in front of her, Amity watched her hand brush across the ice around them in a semi-circle leaving behind it a trail of playing cards with each one having an odd symbol drawn on the back. With that same momentum, Amity felt herself pulled towards Luz and the little barrier of cards she had erected. She watched in amazement as each card began to glow, and after only a second of waiting, several thick pillars of ice erupted outwards converging on a point over their heads. Amity didn’t get a chance to study them further though because Luz pulled her close and wrapped her arms around her, she knew why. Moments later the thunderous crash of snow and dirt around them filled their ears, and then the deafening hiss of her fire hitting that same snow and throwing up a mass of steam that completely covered the area. The witch and human stayed still for almost 4 minutes after the sounds had finally quietened down, not daring to move in case any more snow felt like joining them down below. Eventually, though, Luz let go, and the 2 cautiously stepped out into the winds which were quick to dissipate the steam. It was then that Amity could see what had happened

A roof, they made a roof above them, protecting them from both the snow above and fire in front with a series of icy pillars that conjoined to form a sturdy looking barrier. She did that. A _human_ did that. Humans weren’t supposed to be able to do that right? _Right?_ She didn’t get a chance to dwell on it though, she was quickly interrupted by a very angry sounding Luz.

_“What. The. Fuck. Amity. I said clear a fucking path, not bring the stupid pissing mountain down on your head! Are you fucking insane!? Do you even know how stupidly reckless that was, if I hadn’t been here you would be screwed, do you even realise that? You’d be dead, or at least dying, and I’d of trecked up this godforsaken shit hole for no god damn reason. Are you even listening to me? Hey, Amity? Hello? I said are yo-”_

_“You did magic…”_ She silenced Luz’s rant with 3 quick words, and all the anger left her face, replaced by that same look of distrust she had earlier.

_“…”_

_“You did magic Luz, you’re human, that’s not supposed to be possible…”_

_“…”_

_“How did you do that?”_

_“…”_

_“How did you do it Luz, you need to tell me or-“_

_“Or what? You’ll inform the imperial coven?”_ Amity was a little taken back by that. The coven? That means Luz was using something illegal to do this right? The only thing that immediately came to mind was…

_“You know glyph magic don’t you?”_

_“…”_

_“How else could you have possibly done that? I saw the cards, they had symbols on the back, glyphs… I can’t believe it; you know glyph magic”_

_“…”_ Luz stared at her

 _“…”_ Amity stared back

It was only after 2 whole minutes of the tense silence that Luz seemed unable to bear it any longer.

_“So what happens now Amity, cause honestly, I don’t know anymore…”_

_“W-what do you mean?”_

_“Well, are you going to turn me in or not? Glyph magic is illegal, you said so yourself, so what happens now you know I have it?”_

What happens now? Did something have to happen? I mean, sure, she was morally obligated to inform the coven, that magic was supposedly wild and dangerous, just being found with the drawn symbols could see you arrested. But Luz had just saved her life, right? Knowing that revealing that secret might cost her her freedom she still moved to save Amity from her own stupid behaviour, how was she supposed to, in any good conscience, go against her now!?

 _“You think I’d do that to you after you just saved my life? Is that how you see me?”_ That came out a little more personal sounding that she had intended.

 _“I don’t know how I see you after you tried prying into my body Amity, I asked you not to push it and what do you do? You try and take advantage of me sleeping to do the one thing I asked you not to! In fact, I shouldn’t have to trust you in the first place, I barely know you! I’m doing you a favour because having the rich smart girl owe me one seemed like a pretty good idea at the time!”_ That hurt.

This time it was Amity’s turn to stare dejectedly at Luz, and the two stayed like that for a moment, staring, taking in each other’s opinions of the other. Honestly, Amity was pissed, still pissed after the whole mocking incident and even more so now that Luz had effectively admitted to using her for her money and or power, whichever she decided to abuse from this favour she was getting. She knew she crossed a line, sure, but she didn’t have to be quite so blunt about it did she? Amity had been, for all her flaws, trying to get along with the human for the brief time they were together, and she would have been happy to owe her one afterwards, but she could of at least kept up the act until the end of the stupid trip. Maybe it would be best to just go home now, she didn’t know if she co- Wait… What did she call her?

_“D-did you just call me Amity?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Just now when you were admitting that I’m just money in your eyes, what did you call me?”_

_“Errr… Amity?”_ She just blinked at that.

_“Wait, NOW you call me Amity!? All this time I’ve been trying to get along with you and it’s not until you’re lecturing me like my sister that you actually use my fucking name! Why the fuck start using it now!? Why should I eve-“_

_“Cause you won the bet”_

Huh? The bet? The bet! She had completely forgotten about it. She spun around to investigate how far she had gotten with her little stunt, and despite the near-death experience a smile began to creep onto her face. The path leading up the mountain was completely clear, even dry in some spots though new snow was falling. She had done it; she had actually managed to clear away all that god damn snow!

 _“HA, I fucking knew I could do it, eat shit Noceda_ _now you have to… well I guess you’re already doing it. Fuck I should have asked for money too”_

She was busy contemplating why exactly she had just risked her life for a change in names that she _almost_ didn’t hear it. Luz had started laughing, not giggling, not that weird little half-laugh thing that she did when she kinda thought something was funny, but actually full-on laughing, even doubling over as she tried desperately to breathe. She looked stupid as fuck, but for some reason, the sight was enough to start Amity off too, and soon both girls, amidst the wind and snow, wear laughing so hard they were in tears, and honestly, Amity had no idea why. It was Luz who managed to find her words again first and spoke through deep breaths.

_“You know… what… I think I… like that version… of you better! A lot… less prissy yanno? You should act like that more often!”_

Amity just stared at her, smile plastered across her face. It was barely 11 am but she was half-way up a mountain, damn near frozen, using some of her most powerful magic _just because she could_ and winning bets against obnoxious waitresses who for some strange reason liked her more when she was being a bitch. She fucking loved it!

_“Alright Amity, let’s just get go get this fucking flower before that path freezes over again”_

**Luz pov:**

That morning had been eventful, no way of sugar-coating it. She had woken up to the witch trying to… well do something weird she wasn’t entirely sure to be honest, she just knew it had to do with her tattoo. She was mad, of course, she was, that tattoo was private… mostly, yes some parts were shown, but that didn’t mean she wanted all it to be seen, and the thing is since she had been asking so often Luz had even just considered showing her after this trip so she’d shut up. But trying to sneak a peek while she slept? That really rubbed Luz the wrong way. She thought she could have at least a semblance of trust in Amity, the two of them had been getting along pretty well these past few days after all, and she certainly wouldn’t have slept in the same tent as her if she wasn’t at least willing to try! But then what does she go and do? Oh, that’s right, completely break that trust in the span of about 3 very weird minutes.

Maybe she had been harsh after all, but Luz felt she wasn’t wrong in being mad about that, Amity had even openly admitted that she crossed a line, so even she knew she did something wrong. Luz had been planning on giving her the cold shoulder after that, but then came the second big event of the morning, the _dare_. When Amity had claimed she could clear that snow it took everything Luz had not to laugh in her stupid face. There was like 16 inches of snow tops piled up along that ridge, and it stretched back at least 30 feet, even Eda would have a hard time effectively clearing that much snow in the middle of a blizzard, and yet the witch had managed to surprise her once again. That girl had no right firing off a fireball that massive, how the hell that was even possible she had no idea, she had thought that Amity was an abomination mage that dabbled in fire magic, but now she was starting to think it was the other way round. Luz was honestly lost for words once she saw the spell roar to life, a literal inferno in the girl's hands, but luckily it was because she was so focused on it that she realised how high it was climbing against the wall of wind it was wrestling with. She watched as the flames clawed at the overhang, and while she couldn’t directly see it, she was almost certain it was piled with enough snow to send the oblivious pyromaniac over the edge of the cliff to her death. She had tried shouting, calling out to the girl, but she was so focused on her task she barely noticed, and Luz had cursed herself for encouraging her. She briefly wondered if the girl would be ok without her intervention as she began stepping forward, hand reaching behind her and into the small pouch around her waist. She was the daughter of the CEO to one of the biggest weapons manufacturers on the Isles, showing her the glyphs would almost certainly end in her arrest! She couldn’t risk herself on one girl who just 20 minutes prior had completely pissed her off, and yet, for some unknown reason, against all logic, she still somehow found herself sprinting towards Amity with her glyphs in hand. Amity, who was just now realising the situation she had gotten herself into, was beginning to panic as she stared at the snow tumbling towards her from above, and Luz knew that no matter what happened, she couldn’t just let this girl die because she wanted to see her tattoo!

Luz was fast, and managed to shelter the 2 of them from both the snow and fire with some nicely placed ice glyphs that formed a rounded half shield over both her and Amity, while she herself used her own body to block any of the heat that managed to slip through the cracks between the pillars and god damn was it _hot_ , just how fucking strong was this girl? By the time the pair had emerged from the half-melted shelter, Luz was about ready to slap the girl. She was pissed she almost died for her, pissed she felt she _had_ to almost die for her. Luz didn’t really understand why it is she was so determined to save her from her own mistakes, but she didn’t feel the girl deserved to die… not yet at least, because now she knew about her glyphs, and depending on her reaction she might very well be going over that cliff anyway. Not that Luz was entirely confident she could beat Amity with a single pouch of glyphs anymore, but she would sure as hell have to try if she decided to go running to the cops like the goody-two-shoes she was deep down.

So, needless to say, Luz was pretty surprised to find out that Amity had no intentions of turning her in at all, and in fact even seemed somewhat offended by the notion that she would. Luz was… confused, to say the least, she really had been expecting the girl to at least disown her, but instead, she seemed to focus on the fact that A) Luz was trying to get a favour for volunteering to scale a gigantic death trap for her, and B) that she was calling her Amity now. On one hand, yes, she had only agreed to do this because she could get a favour from both Amity Blight and Willow Parks in return for a single flower, but at the same time, it wasn’t like she would of even told Amity about the flower in the first place if all she wanted was money! Though, she had also had the wrong impression of Amity too, so she called that one even. The second point was even stranger to her, the fact that after almost dying and getting into a big fight she seemed to zero in on the fact Luz was calling her Amity and not cabbages, or cabbage top, or, god forbid, Blight! Luz wasn’t quite sure what had happened at that moment, but she watched as Amity’s perfect girl persona broke apart and she began jumping up and down like a schoolgirl, screaming about how she could eat shit and that she should have asked for money. The sudden change in atmosphere, the fact that 5 seconds before she had been prepared to try and kill the girl, the general absurdity of the situation all decided to swirl together, and Luz laughed. And she laughed and laughed and laughed, and at some point, Amity had started laughing too, and that only made her laugh harder, and the only thought going through her head at that moment, as the two of them lay in the snow and the wind laughing and struggling to breathe, was that she really preferred this version of Amity. Maybe she wouldn’t cut her off after this little trip after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh, enjoy this weird fuzzball chapter of fighting, but not really fighting, but instead maybe kinda fighting? Who knows, not I! Well I do, or I like to think I do anyway, but then again I also thought I knew how to properly boil an egg and that ended tragically so perhaps not... 
> 
> Oh right the AU, so yeah this was originally going to be what happens next chapter, but I decided I wanted to maybe throw some issues into the mix! I have no idea how this turned out myself, I think good, probably, at least no worse than my other chapters right? Yeaaahhh!
> 
> Oh, I do really want to try and draw the tattoo that Luz has, it looks great in my head but its hard to put into words yanno? Plus like, I can't draw for shit, so that's another roadblock


	10. The Midnight Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so last chapter wasn't super popular, that's fine. I SHALL IMPROVE!  
> Anyway, slightly longer one this time! Any feed back is appreciated folks <3

**Luz pov:**

This had to be the single worst thing Luz had ever done! As long as she could remember the cold had never bothered her, she’d be fine wearing shorts on even the coldest days back in the US and the normal winters here on the Isles weren’t much worse. The knee, however, was an entirely new ballpark. Despite being dressed in clothing fit for the Antarctic, Luz was absolutely frozen. Her and Amity had begun their ascent only an hour prior but compared to yesterday’s climb this was proving nearly impossible. Heavy snowfall worked to almost blind the girls, disorientating them and slowing their progress, heavy howling winds made clear communication a pipe dream, and the path they had been following had vanished.

Luz was leading the way, right arm shielding her eyes from the wind as they moved their way up the mountain, weaving in between the evergreens that acted as their only respites as the incline only grew steeper. Now Luz rarely got to compare her own stamina to, what she considered, regular people. More often than not only really having to push herself in the company of those equally as talented or trained, so it was pretty ego-boosting seeing just how out of breath the poor witch was from the climb. She had fallen behind considerably and was now taking a moment to breathe at one of the thicker trees that shielded her from the snowfall. Not that Luz didn’t sympathise, she did, really, but the longer she took the longer the pair were going to be out here and with the temperature only dropping the higher they got the more likely it was becoming that the pair would never come back down again. Mildly frustrated, Luz quickly slid her way back down the mountain to where the witch was resting, coming to a stop just beside her.

_“You ok Amity?”_

_“No, I’m not… alright, how the hell are…_ you _alright!? I get you work out… and all, but this is stupid…!”_ She spoke between gasps for air, the red hue of her nose and ears standing out against her otherwise pale skin.

_“Look I get you’re tired, but we don’t have much further to go now alright? Come on, you’re a Blight aren’t you? You’re not gonna get beat by some snow!”_

She tried to put some energy into her voice but looking at the girl had Luz worried. She really wasn’t built for this kind of excursion, something that had been mentioned on their first planning session only for Amity to brush her off claiming she’d be fine. _If they both survived this she was never gonna hear the end of it._ Taking a deep breath, Luz held out a hand to Amity and waited expectantly. The witch eyed her up before reluctantly taking her hand.

_“Yeah whatever, let’s just get this over with so I can go home. This stupid flower better work as well as you said it will cause if it doesn’t I swear to titan I’m gonna roast you alive”_

_“Gee, thanks, next time I’ll remember to let you do this shit on your own then!”_

They began climbing in silence once again, barely able to hear each other anyway and continued on for over 2 hours. It wasn’t until about 1 pm that the winds began finally dying down, and by the third hour the girls could actually see more than 10 feet ahead of them, a blessing Luz was more than thankful for. But good things never last, and while they had been given a short break from the blizzard, all it took was one glance at the clouds to realise that they were simply at the centre of the storm, and that gave them all of 10 minutes before the winds picked back up. 10 minutes to make as much progress as they could, and it was well-timed too.

Timed perfectly for their first obstacle, the path thinning out to be barely a person wide and reaching around the side of a cliff. The right-hand side means an almost certainly fatal drop for either of them should they fall.

_“W-we have to cross that?! You’ve got to be taking the piss Luz…”_

_“Well it’s this or a 5-hour extended journey taking the scenic route, your choice Bl- Cabbages”_

_“…Fine, whatever”_

_“Oh, shut up you’ll be fine, just be very careful with where you step and you’ll be across in no time! Besides, there’s almost no wind anymore, so hurry up before it comes back!”_

_“What exactly was your plan here if the wind hadn’t stopped?”_

_“Not important”_

Amity just sighed and began moving to the shelf, tentatively taking the first step. With the temporary stillness in the air, even Luz could hear the ice groan under her weight, and yet the youngest Blight didn’t step away. Instead, she plastered herself the wall and began slowly inching her way across with Luz watching in anticipation. The witch didn’t stop once, and within a few minutes was safely on the other side of the drop.

_“Huh, she’s braver than I thought she was…”_

Now it was Luz’s turn, and she made her way to the edge of the cliff, slowly edging her foot out along it similarly to how the witch had done so before her. Much like with Amity, the ice groaned underfoot and suddenly Luz wasn’t quite as confident as she was 30 seconds ago. Rather stupidly she let her eyes wander downwards and to the massive drop below. Luz wasn’t exactly afraid of heights, she had climbed many tall buildings in her life after all and often used rather unsafe methods to get there in the first place. It was for this reason that she wasn’t exactly sure why the moment she looked downwards she felt like throwing up, maybe because she didn’t have her usual gear with her? Or because she had a big heavy backpack that she had to hold as she crossed, or perhaps because she had about half of her foot standing between her and an untimely death? Whatever the reason may have been, Luz was very quickly realising that a fear of heights probably wasn’t something she was ever going to laugh at again.

Slowly but surely, Luz continued sliding her way across the thin bridge, her pack wrapped in her arms and acting as a very precariously held counterbalance in her journey. It took Luz about 3 minutes to cross the gap and all but threw herself to the ground once the path widened once again, releasing a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding in the first place.

_“Ohhh? What’s the matter Luz, was that a wittle scawy?”_

_“Screw off Cabbages”_

_“I’m just saying, you were awfully confident until you had to cross, and you did so much slower than I did!”_ Was she mocking her?

 _“Cause I’m careful! No offence but unlike you, I am not a lanky vegetable, I weigh a_ lot _more than you”_

_“I am not ‘lanky’! I’ll have you know my body is fine thank you very much, I’m just not a gym freak like you?”_

_“HA, if you think_ I’m _a gym freak you just wait until you see Willow, that girl could lift a god damn motorbike with one hand. She’s the freak here, not me!”_

 _“Oh, believe me, I am well aware, Boscha would_ not _stop talking about it for like 3 days, it was kinda driving me insane”_

_“Wait, you mean Strawberry? Why’s she so fixated?”_

_“Well, between you and me? She’s always had a thing for muscles, I’m starting to think Willow awoke something in her she didn’t know she had!”_

_“Wait wait wait, seriously! No way, oh that would just be amazing! Maybe I should get Willow to start wearing tank tops more, really fan the flames yanno?”_

Amity rolled her eyes but was smiling none the less, and for a brief moment, Luz almost completely forgot they were even on a mountain.

_“Alright, let’s keep going, we’re on the home stretch now, about 10 more minutes down the path and we should come t-“_

It took but an instant for the wind to restart, barrelling into the girl like a freight train. Amity was able to catch herself quickly, throwing her hands up to shield her eyes, but Luz? Luz had forgotten just where she had been standing, right at the very edge of the cliff. It took but an instant for the wind to restart, and only another instant more for Luz to fall backwards over the edge of the cliff with no time to react. _Mierda._

There was a flash green as Luz felt something grab her ankle, and her fall was stopped as soon as it started. With a heavy _THUD_ Luz felt her body, and more importantly her head, slam against the icy wall behind her. The air escaped her lungs and her vision swirled and Luz swore she was about to throw up her breakfast. The pain radiated throughout her head and Luz could barely stop her vision spinning, and-

 _“Luz, dammit, are you ok?! Shit, you need to do something I’m not strong enough to hold you, I’m slipping!”_ Amity’s voice rang out ladened with panic, and it was enough to drag Luz’s consciousness back to the forefront of her thoughts. Blinking away the haze in her vision she tried to get a grasp of her situation, though the now swirling snow and wind made that quite difficult. She was upside down, her back against the cliff face with her arms and one leg hanging free. The remaining leg, she could see, was being held onto desperately by Amity who was already struggling to keep herself from tumbling over with her. Having only had half a second to grab her, she probably didn’t have much of an opportunity to find an ideal spot and Luz could see she was already slipping, she had to think fast! Reaching upwards Luz grabbed at the small pouch of glyphs hoping for something, _anything,_ that could help her. She pulled the first glyph into view, fire, _useless,_ and then the second, plant, _also useless!_ She let the first two be taken by the winds, not in any position to try and save them now that they were out of the pouch, and it wasn’t the third glyph that Luz found something she could work with, Levitation!

Luz had very little experience with these glyphs in particular, her last attempt at using one having flung her through the 23rd story window of an office that was thankfully empty at the time, something Eda hadn’t stopped laughing at her for almost a week… She worked fast, planting the glyph on her chest and activating it.

_“Amity, do NOT let go!”_

Luz began to raise up, but while her body was no longer bound by gravity it only made the threat of the wind worse as Luz now found herself being blown like a big human balloon. Now back at ground level though she could better see Amity’s situation. She was on her stomach, the wind whipping her hair into her face as she hung onto Luz’s leg. She seemed aware that Luz was no longer falling and had started using her other hand to slowly claw her way backwards and further onto the path. She was making progress, but the wind continued to blow, and Luz could feel her grasp slipping.

_“Amity, please, you have to move a little faster, just get me back over the edge, just a little further!”_

If Amity could hear the desperation in her voice she didn’t show it, and with eyes still closed she tightened her grip and continued to claw her way backwards. A little further… _a little further…_ And the moment Luz’s body was mostly over the path she let the magic of the glyph end, her body dropping like a rock onto the frozen snow and dirt below. With out stopping for a moment, she rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up, grabbing Amity by the arm and dragging both of them away from the cliffs edge and into the now continuing forest that awaited them. Luz’s head was spinning, she had hit it hard, but that wasn’t Amity’s fault. She shouldn’t of been standing there, how the hell had she forgotten about the fucking _blizzard_ surrounding them!

She continued silently cursing herself as she powered through the pain in her head and looked for a spot where the girls could take refuge. Luckily the Titan seemed to cut her a break for now as she stumbled across a small cave large enough at least for the two of them. Now far from any 500ft drops Luz finally felt comfortable letting go of Amity’s arm and focused on stumbling her way into the shelter. She slumped against the wall and let her body drop, the adrenaline of almost dying having now completely worn off. Amity was close behind, taking a seat beside the entrance as she struggled to catch her breath. The cave itself had been carved into the rocks,

They spent all of 30 seconds in a somewhat relieved silence before Amity suddenly spoke up.

_“Luz, you’re bleeding!”_

_“Huh?”_ Ohhhhh right, she was wasn’t she, of course she was, she was slammed against that wall pretty hard, its no wonder her head was bleeding.

_“Come here, I know some healing magic, I can help!”_

_“It’s fine, don’t worry about it…”_

_“Luz, I have plenty of magic lef-“_

_“I said its fine Amity, drop it”_ She snapped.

_“What the hell, I’m just trying to help, stop being so damn stubborn!”_

_“Oh god will you shut up, I’m not being stubborn”_

In order to demonstrate her point, Luz reached back and produced another glyph, this one drawn atop plain paper as opposed to a playing card, and placed it gently against the back of her head, the drying blood helping it stick without much issue. She gave it a light tap and the paper folded in on itself, sending a small wave of green magic across her head as she felt the dizziness begin to subside. While she prepared to use another Amity spoke again.

_“Healing too huh… Those glyphs are pretty useful aren’t they”_

_“What, you jealous that the human’s better at magic than you are Cabbages? Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone!”_ Now able to turn and face her, Luz gave a mocking wink to the green-haired witch that only glared back.

_“You wish, they just seem awfully convenient that’s all, I wonder why the emperor would outlaw it…”_

_“Who knows, who cares… And they aren’t that convenient, every glyph ahs conditions and drawbacks. For example, these healing glyphs potency is directly correlated to how valuable the material they’re drawn on is, so as you can imagine paper ones aren’t much more than glorified band-aids”_

_“Then why the hell are you refusing_ _to let me help you!”_

_“Because that magic is better saved for an emergency you dumbass, you used a lot of it earlier clearing out that snow, you can’t have a lot left right?”_ She opened her mouth to reply but caught herself, as if thinking her response over.

_“…Right”_

_“Right! So just let me waste the cheap paper glyphs on my stupid head, it’s my fault that happened anyway, not yours”_ That seemed to surprise Amity.

_“Huh, I didn’t think you could actually own up to anything, I thought for sure this was gonna end up my fault somehow…”_

_“Well hey, if you wanna take the blame then…”_

_“No, I’m good thanks, that was definitely your fault. I’m just surprised I don’t have to convince you of that fact”_

_“I get I lack a lot of common-sense Cabbages, but I’m not stupid, even I can admit to my mistakes. As I said, I’m not stubborn”_

And the conversation seemingly ended there, Amity instead turning to stare out into the snowstorm instead as Luz continued to spend the next 5 minutes using glyph after glyph to slowly close the cut on the back of her head. Luz was the first to suggest they head out, and while Amity was hesitant at first, reminding her that their destination was less than an hour away was enough to spur her into action too. Ready to finish this god-forsaken trip once and for all, the girls head out, hopefully for the final time. They continue to follow a wider path, the evergreen trees growing sparse and the snow only piling higher as they climb, but they go higher still, and eventually, almost an hour after leaving the small cave, they reach the top of the incline that levels out into a wide plateau. To the left is the icy cliff that continues upwards while the rest of the boundary is surrounded by a thicker gathering of trees, strange considering their growing sparsity on their way up. By this point the wind was calming down once again, not stopping completely like before but certainly slowing to a reasonable speed.

 _“Oh fucking finally, we’re here!”_ Luz fell to her knees and hugged the floor.

_“This is it? This is where that stupid flower is?”_

_“Supposedly”_

_“S-SUPPOSEDLY? DID YOU DRAG ME ALL THE WAY UP HERE FOR A_ CHANCE _AT FINDING IT? Oh, I’m gonna kill you, I swear I’m gonna kill you…”_

_“Oh relax, it’ll be here! Now stop shouting, we were incredibly lucky not to run into any demons up here, but if you keep screaming like that, they’re gonna find us”_

_“…”_

_“Come on, help me look so that we can finally get down from this hellscape! It’s got a purple stem with green leaves that curl inwards”_

_“Fine”_

The two of them began searching, Amity scanning the cliff face while Luz investigated the tree line. She moved slow, searching around the trunk of each tree as she kept an eye out for any sign of the plant she had risked life and limb for. The information claimed that the plant itself was somewhere on the large plateau about a third of the way up the mountain, a rarity considering they usually only grew near the summit. It was thanks to the constant winds that would sometimes send seeds further down the mountain that this opportunity was presented, and Luz knew that finding one on a larger open plane like this was their best shot at getting it without climbing any further. _It had to be here somewhere…_

There were another 5 minutes of searching before Luz finally caught the tell-tale glimpse of purple that stood out against the blinding white of the snow. Partially buried besides what looked to be a large boulder caked in the snow was the flower she was looking for! _Joder, sí!_ She moved forward quickly and dropped to her knees beside the flower, carefully brushing away the snow around it. It had piled up, thanks to the blizzard, against the rock in a sort of slope, and more of it began to slide down as she pushed it away, but she paid that no mind as she finally reached the dirt beneath. Pulling out her knife she sent a few quick test stabs into the frozen soil to loosen it up before triumphantly uprooting the plant, roots and all. She quickly stuffed it into her bag and used the snow to clean her hands. She was overjoyed, she could finally go home and sleep in a proper bed, and she had one of the richest girls on the Isles owing her a favour. This trip might just have been worth the effort after all! Yes, Luz was thrilled. A little _too_ thrilled however, a little _too_ excited as she turned her back to the boulder, and a little _too_ excited to even register the black hairs that were beginning to reveal themselves as more snow fell. She was definitely a little _too_ excited as she hopped up and down in her spot, muttering congratulations to herself in Spanish to even notice the boulder begin to shift, and little _too_ excited to even register the fact that something was now blocking out the sun from behind her. What she _wasn’t_ too excited for though, was the deep and guttural growl that echoed across the small patch of woods she occupied that served to snap her back to reality. She also wasn’t too excited to realise that she had forgotten exactly where it was she was, and just what inhabited this place normally. Luz slowly turned her head to look at the source of the sound that had frozen her quicker than the blizzard ever could, and felt the colour drain from her face as she recognised just what it was stood behind her. A beast of coal-black fur whose torse rippled with barely contained muscle, paws large enough to crush her head in an instant, claws larger still than the blade she held in her own hand, and two soulless black beady eyes that only held one emotion, _hunger._

**Amity pov:**

_The scream that came from the woods was one that would haunt Amity’s dreams for weeks to come._

Amity snapped her attention towards the woods were Luz had wandered off to, and the direction of the scream she had just heard. She began moving towards it, but barely made it 3 steps before Luz came barrelling out of the tree line somehow looking more terrified than she had an hour prior after nearly falling to her death, and it took Amity only another 5 seconds more to understand why. Chasing Luz out of the woods was over 800 pounds of muscle and claw travelling far faster than something that size had any right to. A Goliath bear. The ground shook with every heavy step and the trees that stood in its way acted as nothing more than nuisances as it quickly gained on Luz. _I have to do something!_

In her palm came a ball of fire, small, simple, but all her mind could think to create in the few seconds she had until her new friend became a demon’s morning meal. She raised her arm, took aim, and let the spell fire forth, the bolt of flame striking the bear in the side of the head as it came to a sudden stop. Amity had been scared many times in her life, she had always been confident that she could handle fear well, but as this beast 3 times her size turned its gaze onto her she realised that for the first time in her life she truly understood what it meant to stare death in the face. She had barely come to that realisation before the Goliath bear turned to face her fully and charged, it’s jagged array of teeth on full display as it let out a horrifying roar, unlike anything Amity had ever heard before, like a hundred different mutilated voices crushed together, an unholy screech that shook Amity to her core.

She could barely move as the beast approached, crossing the vast distance between them in a matter of seconds. Its head snapped sideways, its jaw unhinging almost like a snake as it prepared to bite the witch in two… But Amity hadn’t been training all this time for nothing. While her legs were certainly not responding to her brain, her arms were, and she quickly drew forth a shimmering purple spell circle. The Goliaths charge was brought to a sudden stop by the 2 massive purple arms that protruded from the circle, grabbing the beasts upper and lower jaws, and to even Amity’s own amazement, pushed the bear back slowly, giving the Abomination room to fully summon itself. This one Amity called ‘Sebastian’, a massive variant of her standard abomination that packed a lot more strength at the cost of speed. With a final heavy push, Sebastian was able to send the Goliath stumbling backwards into the snow and giving his master room to breathe. She quickly glanced past the beast for Luz only to realise that the girl was gone. Had she left!? _Had she just used Amity Blight as bait?! Oh, she was so fucking dead._

Before Amity could even begin to formulate a murder however, the Goliath was back on its feet and ready for round two as it stared down its new large competition. Demons weren’t stupid, and Amity knew that the moment she watched the beast’s eyes look between her and Sebastian before finally settling on her. _It knew she summoned it._ Amity took a step back, mentally willing Sebastian to attack while she conjured forth two more bolts of fire. Despite his initial victory, Amity quickly realised that Sebastian was still no match for this beast. While he may be able to match it in terms of sheer strength, the Goliath bear had him beat in speed, intelligence and endurance, and the beast made sure to capitalize on that. Sebastian threw the first punch, aiming for the beast’s head but missing, and taking a heavy paw to his leg instead, easily splattering the goo and causing him to fall back into the snow. Amity tried to help, really she did, but her fire attacks barely seemed to phase the beast as it moved forward towards the now incapacitated abomination. The Goliath followed up by pinning Sebastian down and biting down hard onto his head, tearing away the clump of goo and tossing it away from the body. Likely assuming it had dealt with the large threat, the Goliath than turned to the Amity, who was still tossing bolts of fire at it in an endless volley. It took one step towards her, ready to charge once again, only to be met with a heavy punch to the temple that sent it sprawling to the ground by Sebastian’s feet. Abominations don’t need heads.

Amity watched her now headless companion raise up, his leg regenerating enough to step forward and begin landing a series of blows against the beast, buying her time to try and think of a way to deal with the beast. Between harassing it with fire and having to constantly regenerate Sebastian, Amity was quickly running out of magic, even with her bracelets help, and she knew that she wouldn’t win a battle of attrition against this thing. She could possibly kill it, she could use that spell she had used against Lilith, but the problem was that it was very obviously dangerous and she doubted the bear would be kind enough to sit still while she powered it up. She would need to pin it down somehow, but if even Sebastian couldn’t hold it still there was no chance any other summons she had could either, and summoning multiple wasn’t an option, she was already fairly drained and she was going to need all the magic she had to even have a chance at hurting her opponent. _How could she pin it?_

 _“Amity!”_ The voice rang out over the sounds of the combatting giants and drew her attention. It’s source, Luz, was on the other side of the plateau and was trying to signal her to come to her. Turns out the human hadn’t run away, something Amity was extremely thankful for! She probably wanted to run, smart, but Amity wasn’t confident she could outrun that bear-like Luz could, and currently the only thing saving her was the giant _slow_ abomination standing between them. Eventually, Luz got sick of waving and ran over to her, but Amity spoke up before she could.

_“We can’t run! We won’t make it Luz, we have to kill it, or disable it somehow!”_

Luz only stared at her like she was insane, and maybe she was, she hadn’t ever fought a creature like this before, and she had no idea if she could do this.

_“I have an idea Luz, but you have to trust me! I need you to pin it somewhere, in one spot, if you do I might be able to wound it enough to stop it!”_

_“No way, that thing is going to kill us, I can’t fight it with what I have! I just… I can’t fight that thing Amity, not again…”_

Right, Luz had almost been killed by one of these things before! Of course she was scared, it’s no wonder she just wanted to run, she was probably terrified, and yet she still came back to help despite that. She felt horrible, this was not how you’re supposed to deal with childhood trauma but…

 _“Look, Luz, I get it, you’re scared, but we aren’t gonna outrun it, between you and Sebastian you can hold it still, keep it distracted long enough for me to aim. If I hit it we win! Please just trust me!”_ She was met with a look of clear hesitation, consideration, and eventual resignation. With a heavy sigh and a fear ever-present in her eyes, Luz nodded and turned around to face the beast.

 _“I’ll do it where they’re fighting now alright?”_ Luz only nodded.

She darted off towards the beast drawing glyphs from her pouch, and Amity watched as waves of ice and plants began to piece and entangle the beast. It threw a wayward swing at Luz who was barely able to slide under the claws to avoid decapitation and continued angrily attempting to wrestle away from the slime that had coiled around its body. Despite being restrained and impaled though it barely seemed to lose any strength and continued shattering icy pillars and tearing off arms as it tried to free itself. Sebastian, with a naturally amorphous body, was able to slide over the obstacles with ease and aid Luz in finally wrestling the beast into a chokehold. She had her opportunity.

Much like before, it took her roughly 30 seconds to draw a series of 5 circles, each one getting slightly larger than the one in front of it and aiming it in front of her towards the Goliath bear. She took a deep breath and called forth all of the remaining magic that was stored within the bracelets around her wrists. With one final push she released it all, dwarfing the flamethrower she had made that morning as a veritable tsunami of flame poured into the first circle which was captured and condensed, being released into the second circle which caught it and repeated the process into a more pressurised stream of yellow, then green, then blue, then finally, from the smallest and final circle no larger than a dinner plate, a searing hot pure white flame burst forth like a railgun. The shot flew across the clearing and struck the demon square in the chest, stopping against its thick hide for only a moment before piercing through with a sickening crack and erupting out of its back on the other side. Steam was thrown out in vast amounts, and a thick line between Amity and the Bear now laid clear of any snow whatsoever. In front of her, the Goliath that had been viciously thrashing about moments earlier was now completely still, its gargantuan form collapsing forwards with a heavy _Thud_. She had done it, she had not only wounded it but actually managed to kill it! _Victory!_

With the exhaustion of using up all her magic quickly washing over her, she allowed Sebastian to dissolve into nothingness, and she slowly made her way over to its corpse where Luz was standing, mouth agape. She stared at Amity with an emotion she couldn’t recognise, but frankly she couldn’t care less right now. She could not wait to tell Lilith she managed to kill a Goliath bear, she was going to freak out!

 _“H-holy shit Amity, I mean I knew you were strong but… holy shit”_ She muttered.

 _“What, impressed? Good, cause I literally can’t do much better than that… Now, can we_ please _find this stupid fucking dumb plant and LEAVE?”_ Luz’s look of shock slowly faded into a relieved smile, and she patted the bag at her side.

_“One step ahead of ya! I actually found one already. Moments before I almost got eaten would you believe?”_

_“Oh thank fuck for that! Let’s go, right now, I’m sick to shit of this mountain and nearly dying and to make it worse I am now completely exhausted, so are we ready to go?”_ A huge smile spread across her face.

 _“Yup, let’s get go-“_ Luz never got to finish her sentence, cut off abruptly by the sound of cracking ice and shifting snow. Amity turned to see the Goliath bear staring her down, blood pouring from its chest as it raised one paw. It was planning on taking her down with it, that spiteful fucking prick! Exhausted, terrified, confused, Amity couldn’t move, couldn’t react, she had no magic left to summon an abomination to shield her, no ability to dodge or roll or duck, she could only watch as the paw flew towards her with claws ready to tear her in two. She raised her arms, a weak and desperate final line of defence against the attack that was about to end her life, and yet, it never landed…

**Luz pov:**

Her body moved before her mind had processed it, her legs dragging her forward, her arms outstretched to land a heavy shove against Amity’s back and send her sprawling to the ground. It left her no time to dodge, to raise her own arms, or to grab a glyph.

If she had been thinking clearly at that moment, perhaps she could have avoided this, perhaps if she wasn’t so busy watching Amity’s smiling face she would have noticed it begin to move, but she hadn’t, she hadn’t been thinking clearly, and she hadn’t been paying attention, and now here she was saving this stupid girls life. Not like she didn’t deserve it though, she had saved Luz’s life earlier that day, this was just her repaying her debt, that was all.

Luz felt the strike land right on her chest, the claws cutting through the cotton and flesh like butter, her ribs breaking beneath the weight of the blow as she was flung backwards. Honestly, if Luz could watch this happening from a different perspective, she might have been able to laugh at just how amine-esc it was, colliding with the icy wall behind her with enough force to visibly concave the wall. But she was living this scene out herself and the last this she could do right now was laugh as her vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUN, who could have possibly foreseen this turn of events :O  
> I'm joking, of course, obviously, something bad was gonna happen I'm just cliche like that! I get this story isn't exactly super original in its formatting, but I like it, and I hope you folks do too!


	11. Descending the Mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this little arc is coming to a close finally. Its 4am here as I post this, so enjoy!

**Amity pov:**

Amity wasn’t sure if was the sickening _crack_ of Luz hitting the cliff face, or the way her body fell limp to the ground a moment later, but Amity couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. _She was really getting sick of that feeling_. Her eyes lingered on Luz’s body in the snow a moment longer before darting back to the Goliath mere feet from her that had collapsed once again. She stared at it for a moment longer, not daring to move should it still have enough energy to attack, but eventually realised that the beast had truly died this time and she could only hope it would stay that way.

With the immediate threat now gone Amity sprinted over to Luz’s side and dropped to her knees beside her. The snow around her body had already turned a sickly crimson and without even checking Amity knew that the claws of the beast had likely cut deep into her skin, the rapidly increasing circle of red only serving to tell her just how much blood the human was losing. Amity had to do something, _anything,_ and the best place to start would be shelter. Her mind backtracked to the small cave further down the trail, small and barely qualified as shelter as it was, but it was the only place that came to mind. Carefully Amity slipped her arms underneath Luz’s broken body and scooped her up into her arms as she began walking back down the trail they had been climbing all but an hour earlier. It wasn’t easy, between her exhaustion after casting that spell, the cold biting at her exposed skin and the hidden ice beneath the snow Amity was almost impressed that she only managed to slip once. It happened only a short distance from the cave entrance just as the ground was levelling out somewhat. The wind had picked up once again and in her panic she had stepped down at a bad angle, causing her foot to slip out from under her. She was at least able to prevent herself from dropping Luz, hugging the girl’s body close to her own. _She was growing colder._ She stood up once again, and with a now aching ankle shuffled her way into the small inlet in the stone

Now out of the wind, Amity was quick to set Luz down as far into the shelter as she could be, creating a small light with the last remnants of her magic so she could begin seeing just how much trouble Luz was in. Already it was clear that her left arm was broken, twisting in all the wrong directions and swelling up in a rather grotesque fashion, but the worst of the damage would be on her chest and that meant that if Amity was going to have any chance at cleaning those wounds she was going to have to betray Luz’s trust a second time in two days. The difference this time though is that Amity didn’t care if Luz hated her for it, there was no way she was letting this girl die for her.

First problem, the cold. She would have to remove the clothing to dress the wounds, however, that meant exposing Luz’s body directly to the cold, and with the amount of blood she had lost she wasn’t entirely sure she would survive long enough to get it back on again. If she could block up the entrance somehow then she could at least let the tiny cave begin warming up, but she had no magic left to summon and abomination… _The glyphs!_ Of course, if a human could use them then surely a witch could too, right? She gently lifted Luz up and slid the small satchel out from underneath her, unhooking it and opening it up. The satchel itself housed an assortment of playing cards that were arranged for easy but secure access.

Second problem, none of these weird glyphs were labelled! _Shit._ Would it have killed her to at least put a letter or something, anything to help her identify these? Whatever, she could do this! She took the first glyph card out and inspected it, 2 circles atop one another with a dot in the lower one and both wearing a little pointy hat… yeah she had no idea! _Time for plan B._ She shuffled away from Luz and placed the card on the floor in front of her before gently tapping it with her finger. There was a weird sensation like something was being drawn from her, but that quickly dissipated, and in its place was a small crackling fire. Useful, but not sealing that entrance anytime soon. She put aside another fire glyph to remember the design and moved onto the second one. This glyph shared the dotted circle at the bottom, but in place of the second circle on top this time there was a triangle balancing on a stick. She placed it down, tapped it, and watched a wave of deep green magic emanate across the stone floor and do… nothing, it did nothing. Ok, not the one She was looking for, she moved onto the next one, this one resembling a kite of some kind on a hill? She put it down, tapped it, and let her smile spread as a small block of ice rose from the area around the card. _Yes!_ Just what she needed. She quickly gathered a dozen more of the same glyphs and walked over to the cave entrance. Placing a row of the glyphs on the ground she tapped each one, mentally willing the blocks to travel upwards to the roof of the cave. Not all of them made it, but it was enough to finally block out the wind that had been snaking its way into the shelter and the difference was almost immediately apparent. She made her way back over to Luz, taking one of the fire glyphs from the pouch and setting it atop some kindling she got from her bag. Wind, sorted, warmth, sorted, good she was making progress!

Third problem, Amity knew no healing magic, not that she’d have the magic to use it even if she did… She had seen Luz using one of these glyphs to heal herself before, and she at least recognised the design when she saw it amongst the others, but that led to the fourth problem, there were only 3 of them left and the way Luz had described them had been more like pain relief than actual healing magic which left Amity with only traditional healing methods. Glancing down at Luz she could see that the humans breathing had grown shallow and rapid, her face paling and contorting in pain. Pain relief would have to do for now. She reluctantly placed the glyphs onto Luz’s body, one on her forehead, one on her arm, and one on her chest and activated all 3 as the cards they inhabited crumpled up into a soft blue wave of magic that was quickly absorbed into her skin. Her face relaxed somewhat, but she was far from fine, and Amity really had to check those wounds.

With the light hovering overhead Amity found a small penknife she had tucked away in her pocket and began removing Luz’s clothes, cutting away any cloth that had stuck to her skin from the blood or that she couldn’t remove without moving Luz around to do so until she was down to only her bra. Honestly, this was not what Amity had imagined her first time undressing a girl to be like, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and she really couldn’t afford to enjoy the moment as she carefully removed that too. Luz’s chest was coated in a sticky layer of blood, but even through that Amity could see the 3 long gashes that ran her right shoulder all the way down to her hips and she couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of that happening to her. _Why had she willingly done that to herself for Amity’s sake?_

Taking some of the torn clothing and soaking it using the snow near the entrance Amity began using it to delicately clean away the blood from around the cuts as best she could. With every touch Luz would flinch, or gasp, or recoil as best her body could manage, but with every passing minute Amity could feel her unconscious reactions to the pain growing weaker. Not wanting to rush herself and hurt Luz further, she tried not to focus on that. Instead, she let her eyes wander down to the tattoo that had been slowly revealing itself with every swab, the tapestry of ink somewhat tainted by the presence of the blood, yet beautiful all the same. Once again able to see the tattoo on her chest, Amity saw that the wolf and fox playing in the flowers that she had noticed before, had been carved away with the skin, leaving only remnants of their former selves behind. Amity continued to clean, moving upwards along the edges of the deep cuts running across her chest, and found the next creature, or at least what remained of it, centred directly between her breasts. Through the gash in her skin certainly removed most of it, Amity could vaguely make out the edges of the wings of a large butterfly with gorgeous swirling patterns on the parts still intact. The flowers around the remains of the butterfly had also changed, taking a brighter and more colourful appearance than the rest, really helping it stand out. _She couldn’t help but wonder if her previous theory was correct, who that one might represent._

Having finished cleaning her chest Amity turned her attention back to the 3 gaping wounds that had been temporarily covered in the remnants of Luz’s shirt in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She had no idea what she could do, she didn’t know any healing magic strong enough to deal with this, and lacked the magic to use what she did know anyway, and those glyphs had been next to useless as far as she could tell. What was she supposed to do? If she just sat here Luz was going to bleed out, but she had no options, she couldn’t carry her down the mountain like this!

_Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…_

Amity’s spiral was brought to an abrupt end with that sound, her eyes immediately drawn to the source. There on Luz’s wrist was a rather fancy looking smartwatch that had been previously hidden by her sleeves, something Amity had completely glossed over in her panic. She reached over and carefully undid the clasp on the watch, bring it over so that she could better see the screen. In bold letters written across the screen were instructions, along with an arrow pointing to a button at the side.

**_“Unmute me pleeeaaassseee :)”_ **

_Unmute it? Was it talking to her?_

Hesitantly, Amity brought her finger up and pressed the small button at the side of the device. The sound that followed was the single most titan-awful ear-piercing sound that she ever heard.

_“HOOOOOT, Hellooooo, thank you for giving me my talking baaaaack!”_

The voice was loud and nasally, obnoxious in every sense of the word, but Amity was a little more focused on the fact that the watch had just spoken to her… Or at least had a pre-recorded line for unmuting it? That didn’t seem right…

_“H-hello?”_

_“Hellooooooo, my names Hooty, nice to meet yoooouuuuu!”_ Ok now she was weirded out.

_“Hiiiii Hooty? W-what are you exactly?”_

_“I’m Luz’s beeeest friiieeennnd, it’s nice to meet you agaaaiiiin!”_ Again? Best friend?

_“Err, yeah right…”_

_“And thank you for not eating my friiieeends! Luz said you wouldn’t, but I didn’t beliiieeeve her!”_

Eat their friends? What? This conversation was only providing more questions, not answers, but something about the way the watch talked, the way it responded, made one question more prevalent than the others.

_“W-wait, are you… Hooty are you an artificial intelligence?”_

_“The bestest one in the whoooole wide world!”_

_“Wait. Wait, wait, wait, if you’re an AI, a-a real one, a proper one than you have got to be insanely advanced… Our company has been trying to design a fully sentient AI for years with no luck, and here Luz has one-“_ Right, Luz!

_“Wait, Hooty, you belong to Luz right?”_

_“Nooo, we’re b-“_

_“Best friends, right whatever, well she needs help! She’s been hurt, badly, I can’t help her myself you have to do something!”_ Desperation hinted at her voice; Luz was only growing paler.

_“HOOT! I can help! But she needs a doooooctor, I can only stabilise heeeer!”_

_“You can! Seriously!? Do it, do it right now!”_

_“HA, silly witch,_ I _can’t do it, I have no hands! I can only tell yooooouuuu how to do it!”_

Shit. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, was she seriously expecting a watch to magically fix Luz… well yeah maybe, but technology wasn’t magic and she was more than aware of that.

_“I… Fine, just tell me what to do!”_

_“Only if you promise you’ll listen to my stooooory afterwards!”_

_“Y-your story?”_

_“Yup!”_

_“Fine…”_ She didn’t know it yet, but she was _really_ gonna regret that one.

_“Okaaaay, you need to use the glyyyyph!”_

_“The glyph? The healing one? Fuck Hooty I already tried that! They didn’t do anything!”_

_“HOOT, that’s because they were on paper, you have to use something more vaaaaluable!”_

Oh. Right. She had said that. The glyphs strength were linked to how valuable the item they were drawn on was, how could she forget that!

 _“Right! What can I use, what would be strong enough to heal a wound that deep? I don’t have anything on me!”_ She began rifling through her bag, there had to be something she could use!

_“That’s not truuueee, I know twoooo things that would work, but you only need one HOOT”_

Two things? What was it talking about? The watch? No, she wasn’t sure why but she was certain she’d probably need that AI if she was going to get Luz off this mountain alive. Then what else could it be talking about?

 _“Come ooooon Amity, you know what I meeeaaan!”_ When did it learn her name?

_“No, I don’t! What on earth are you talking about you stupid computer, Luz is dying just tell me!”_

_“Jeez, fine, don’t have to be so ruuuuude, I thought you were smaaarter than that, that’s all! I’m talking about the two veeeery valuable items on your wrists, though you’d only need one HOOT!”_

On her wrists? Wait, it meant the bracelets? Those were a gift from her father, the first gift she had received from him in almost 8 years, was she prepared to lose one of those almost immediately? More importantly, _how did that bird know about her bracelets?_

_“I… How do you know about those? I haven’t told anyone about them, not even my siblings”_

_“I am a bird of mysteryyyyyy!”_

_“No, no, no, you tell me right now, does Luz know?”_

_“Nooooo, only meeee, Hooty is veeeeery smart! I KNOW, we can make a deeeaaal, you help Luz, and I’ll tell you how I know!”_

_“These are worth a lot to me… They were a present from my father, isn’t there anything else I can use? Anything Luz has or something?”_

_“Nope, only meeeee, but you’ll need my help getting down this mountain quicklyyyy!”_

_“Fuck, you have got to be fucking kidding me! These are worth too much to me, I can’t lose them already!”_

_“HOOT, Luz is worth a lot to_ me _too you know! Deal or no deal Amityyyyy”_

_“…Deal”_

Amity slowly unclipped the bracelet from her wrist and allowed it to slide off, resting the spiked armband on the floor in front of her. With her penknife and Hooty’s help she was able to somewhat scratch the healing glyph into the leather of the accessory and laid it across Luz’s chest. Her hand stopped just above it, unsure if she was really willing to lose one of the only two signs her father still cared about her over this… No, Luz saved her life, if that bear had struck her, her body almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to handle it as well as Luz’s, she might have even been cut clean in half. She owed the human her life, the least she could do is give up an armband for her, no matter how precious it was to her. With a deep breath, she pressed down on the glyph and watched as it began to glow. The magic washed over the bracelet in full, and Amity could only wince as the expensive and rare item crumpled in on itself like paper before releasing a wave of a much deeper and vibrant blue across her body and soaking into her skin. She felt the tension ease away as the huge cuts began to close, skin knitting itself back together in an extremely creepy fashion, and yet Amity couldn’t look away. But like Hooty said, this was only a temporary fix, and the magic finally gave out when the wounds were about halfway closed, not that Amity could complain. Luz already looked a lot better, not fixed sure, but better.

_“Oh, thank the titan!”_

_“You’re weeeeelcome!”_

_“Shut up you dumb AI, I’m pissed off I had to use that bracelet, and you still have questions to answer”_

_“You said you’d listen to my storyyyyy first!”_

_“Stor- NO, my questions come first!”_

_“Nope.”_

_“Nope? What do you mean ‘Nope’, oh I swear to fucking titan you are lucky you’re digital cause if you were real I would fucking strangle you!”_

_“Story tiiiiiiime!”_

Amity worked to contain the sheer hatred she was already developing for the AI and chose to just let it ramble as she turned her attention back to Luz, she could get her answers later. Luz for what it was worth, was looking a lot better, still bleeding but now with cuts that could at least bandage. Before that though she was going to have to clean the blood off of her back, so she set about sitting Luz up in a position she hoped she’d be comfortable in. She began cleaning, a lot faster than before since she didn’t have to skirt around the wounds on her chest which she was thankful for. The first thing she noticed, having started at the top near to the nape of her neck, was the glyph that had been tattooed onto Luz’s skin. It was one she didn’t recognise from among the cards in her pouch, but Amity made sure she didn’t touch it. She wasn’t sure what it would do, she very much doubted it would hurt Luz in any way since she had it tattooed onto her, but she really wasn’t ready to risk another problem appearing because of her curiosity. She made a mental note of it and continued cleaning, revealing more of her tattoo instead. Much like with her front, the tattoo spread around her left side and across her back, though she noticed that the flowers on her back almost all transitioned to either a dark black or dark red colour. In the centre of them all, coiled around and with eery green eyes, was a lone snake, a dark black cobra that was isolated from the other creatures. It felt out of place amongst the other animals that were playing and happy, and the way it stared back at her left her feeling more than uncomfortable… Still, a black cobra, something about that seemed familiar even if she couldn’t quite figure out why yet.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind she finished cleaning Luz’s back and bandaged her torso as best she could, enough at least to stop the bleeding. With that out of the way, Amity set about redressing her companion, using one of her spare shirts in place of the one she had used to soak up the blood. _Thank god she packed an extra one._ Once Luz was finally dressed to an acceptable standard Amity finally turned her attention back to the watch on the floor that hadn’t shut up once in the past 20 minutes.

 _“Alright Hooty, new question, can you call people from up here?”_ The AI quickly stopped its rambling to respond.

_“HOOT, suuuuure but Eda won’t pick up calls from meeee anymore!”_

_“Then you need to call mountain rescue or the emperors coven or something, anyone to come and get us-“_

_“Nope!”_

_“W-what do you mean FUCKING ‘NOPE’, Luz is going to die up here if we can’t get her down! Are you just stupid?!”_

_“Noooo, I’m very smaaaart, but Luz can’t get taken by the Emperor's coven, she has glyphs on her booooody!”_

Amity almost smacked herself, of course they couldn’t go to the coven, the moment they saw that glyph on her neck Luz would be dragged into prison and interrogated… How had that stupid AI recognised that before her!

_“Right, of course… sorry”_

_“Thaaaat’s okaaay! But you are going to have to get her down the mountain all on your owwwwn!”_

_“I… I can’t! I’m exhausted, I’ve expended all my magic, there’s no way I can carry herself all the way down on my own! I’m… I’m not strong enough!”_

_“HOOT, that sucks, guess Luz is going to diiieee!”_

_“What? I thought you said she was your best friend! Don’t you care?”_

_“Suuuure, but I can’t do anything, guess I’ll just find a neeeeew best friiieeend… HOOT, you can be my-“_

_“Not a chance”_

_“Awww”_

Great, so Amity was stuck up here with a half-dead human and useless obnoxious AI. Leaning back against the wall of the cave, Amity measured up her options. She could wait here for the night, rest up and have a better chance at getting Luz down the mountain on her own tomorrow, but there was no guarantee that Luz would last the night in her condition. She could try and venture down now, but that would mean traversing icy slanted ground in the pitch black while carrying someone, and that was only going to end in disaster! Option three… Well, Amity didn’t just waste her bracelet for nothing, option 3 just wasn’t an option. That left her with only one choice, wait until tomorrow and try to reach the bottom of the mountain before nightfall.

_“Hey Hooty, if you do have signal, I need you to call someone”_

_“HOOT, I already told you Aaaamit-“_

_“Not that, I want you to call my siblings and make sure they’re ready to pick me up tomorrow… Just do it, they won’t snitch about the glyphs, I promise”_

_“…fineeee, what’s their number?”_

Amity made her call to her siblings, making sure to sound as calm as possible over the phone. If they figured out she was in trouble they’d send a detachment of the family company security up here to get her, and if they found out she where she was, so would her family. More importantly than that though, they’d also likely demand she take Luz to a hospital, and that still wasn’t an option. They promised they’d wait at the bottom of the mountain tomorrow around noon for her, though didn’t spare her any of their atrocious jokes before she managed to hang up. With that out of the way, she reapplied the melting ice wall that sheltered the entrance, covered Luz in her own sleeping bag to keep her as warm as possible, and laid down beside her, hoping to offer at least a little protection from the winds that would inevitably make their way in once the wall at the entrance melted away. Tired, scared, and dreading tomorrow Amity closed her eyes and waited for her morning trials.

When she awoke, it was the icy cold that surrounded her, but unlike the night before this time she had no sleeping roll to protect her. Grumbling to herself, and still feeling the ache in her body from using up all her magic she pulled herself into a sitting position. Glancing towards the entrance she could see that the sun hadn’t risen yet, she had chosen to sleep pretty early on but could tell that it wouldn’t be long before it did, the sky already several shades lighter than it should be. Next she turned to Luz who had barely moved since she had fallen asleep. At the very least she was obviously still alive, small movements and rapid breaths make that clear, but even just a glance told Amity that her condition had worsened again. With a heavy sigh Amity pulled herself up, her head was pounding, she could hardly keep her eyes open, but at least she had gotten some rest. She set about cleaning and changing Luz’s bandages as gently as she could and getting herself something to eat, a breakfast bar she finally decided on, and gathering up their belongings. Her magic had barely regenerated yet, a side of effect of draining it almost completely, so in its place she chose to holster Luz’s pouch of glyphs around her waist. She wasn’t nearly as proficient with them as Luz was, she likely never would be, but maybe they’d come in handy. She was almost ready.

Her next decision was whether or not to bring their bags. Well, more of reluctant realisation really, since there was no way she was going to be able to carry them, but she should probably make sure there was nothing useful or valuable in them first. She knew her bag held nothing important, or at least nothing she couldn’t just rebuy once she got home so that only left Luz’s. Kneeling beside the burlap sack she began rummaging through the pockets. A small part of her felt kind of guilty going through the human’s belongings, but she’d probably never know anyway. It contained nothing exciting bar a very large knife and an interesting choice in underwear, and Amity was ready to just leave. She took the Midnight Rose, the whole reason they were up here to begin with, and tucked it carefully into her pocket, making sure it was secure. Ready to leave, she moved back over to Luz.

_“Alright Luz, we gotta go… this is really gonna hurt, but I don’t have a choice”_

She leant down and carefully scooped Luz into her arms, the Latinas body being surprisingly heavy as she shuffled her about a bit to make this little trek as comfortable as possible. Once she had her in a suitable hold, a princess carry to be exact, Amity turned towards the entrance, ready to make their way to safety.

The first obstacle was the thin shelf that they had had to cross on the way up, but even with the much calmer weather, Amity wasn’t wasting any time. She used what little magic she _had_ regenerated to conjure forth pepper, one of her armoured abominations, and had them carry the pair over to the other side. She probably could have done this yesterday, but she had wanted to save her magic as much as possible then, this time she didn’t care. Pepper was barely able to get them to the other side before melting away into a pile of goop that slid off the side of the mountain, but at least the biggest obstacle was out of the way, all she had to do now was avoid any demons and they’d be home free! Another deep breath and Amity continues back down the mountain.

The next dozen hours passed rather peacefully, there was a scare with a squirrel that almost gave Amity a heart attack, but besides that Amity had been making good progress, and it continued that way until they were only a short distance away from where their first camp had been. Turns out you move faster when you’re going downhill and aren’t in a blizzard anymore. It was just as that clearing was coming into view, as the trees were beginning to thin, that she saw it. A large black-coated wolf sat directly outside where they had left their tent 2 nights prior, seemingly investigating it and thankfully not looking in their direction. Amity quickly ducked behind a tree, the sudden movement eliciting a groan from Luz. Dammit, so fucking close and yet so, so far! Could she beat a Scavenger wolf on her own? If she had her own magic, sure, but she would have to use Luz’s glyphs, and she was far less confident with those. But she didn’t have a choice, it’s not like she knew any other way around the creature, so gritting her teeth she took a handful of the cards from the pouch at her waist and prepared for what was going to be an ugly fight... But was cut off. A loud howl rang out across the mountain range that drew the Scav wolfs attention away from the tent and in the direction of the sound. Amity could not believe her luck as the demon bounded off further up the trail in the direction she had come from, maybe the titan hadn’t abandoned her yet! With the way now clear Amity stuffed the cards back into her pouch, grabbed Luz and hurriedly made her way down and across the clearing.

The sun was already setting at this point, so she knew that Ed and Em were waiting for her, but she was nearing her limit, the adrenaline fading faster the closer she got to safety. Her legs felt heavy, her arms were sore and felt like they were going to drop off at any moment. Her breathing was heavy, she was tired and scared, and yet she continued to stumble down the decline as fast as those poor legs would carry her. Closer, closer, and closer still, the ground began to slowly level out, the trees beginning to become more numerous. The snow had all but melted around her and before she knew it she was simply running in the direction of the road, fast as she could go.

The car, sleek and black, came into view, with her siblings leaning against the exterior and scrolling through their scrolls. They must have heard her coming though, because as she approached they finally looked up to see her and almost immediately lost the bored looks plastering their faces, eyes wide as she barrelled towards them with Luz in her arms.

 _“MITTENS!?”_ They cried in unison; the worry was clear in their tone as they rushed towards her. They had barely reached her before she thrust Luz into Ed’s arms, the last of her energy leaving her as she collapsed to the ground, Emira barely able to grab her in time to stop her falling completely.

_“I made it… I actually made it…”_

_“Amity? Are you ok? Who the hell is this? Is this her blood!?”_ Edric was firing off questions far faster than she could possibly answer, but Emira stayed quiet, able to see that Amity at least wasn’t injured.

_“Hooty… You said Luz can’t go to the doctor, do you know an alternative?”_

_“HOOT, Sure dooooo!”_

_“Good, you’re gonna direct the driver there”_

With her sisters help she stood back up and slowly made her way over to the car, ignoring Ed’s questions for the time being as she looked to see who the driver was. She was greeted with the window being rolled down and the worried face of Thomas, the only driver her parents employed that she actually trusted and handed him the watch which he took without question.

 _“Follow it, please”_ She received a nod in return which was good enough for her.

_“Ed, Em, car, I’ll explain on the way provided I don’t pass out, but I really just need you to trust me ok?”_

The twins looked at each other as if silently conversing, before nodding in agreement.

_“Alright mittens, but we want some answers right away”_

Ed quickly brought Luz into the back seat and Emira helped Amity join them before making her way into the passenger side seat upfront. The doors closed, and for the first time in 3 days, Amity felt like she was actually, genuinely safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And next chapter we get to meet some new friends!


	12. Meeting the doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late, spent Wednesday drinking for a friends birthday instead of writing the first half of the chapter, my bad my bad!

**Amity pov:**

Amity sat in the back seat besides Ed, Luz resting across them with her head on Amity’s lap. Thomas had already started driving and now that the urgency of the situation had passed she found herself under the questioning glares of her older siblings. Emira was the first to break the 20 minutes or so of silence.

_“So?”_

_“Soooo”_

_“Amity you better explain what the hell is going on right now or I swear to god I’ll tell mother we found you on the knee”_

_“Woah, alright chill out! I’ll explain… or try at least”_

_“Why don’t you start by introducing us to the dying girl on my lap?”_ Ed spoke up, the concern clearly present in his voice though he tried to hide it.

_“Right yeah, errr, that’s Luz! She’s a… a friend, that I made recently. She offered to help me with, well with what I was doing on the knee since it was dangerous, she got hurt cause of me…”_

Edric and Emira shared a look, Ed seemingly content with that answer. Emira on the other hand wasn’t quite so satisfied.

 _“So why the hell aren’t we taking her to a doctor?”_ She turned to glance out of the car window. They had made it to the edge of Bonesborough rather quickly and were now driving through the less reputable part of the city.

_“In fact, I don’t even know where we are, who could possibly be all the way out here that can help her? The only people that live on the outskirts are criminals and druggies, not people we should be associating with!”_

_“You think I don’t know that? I wanted to take her to a doctor but we can’t”_

_“And why not?”_

_“Cause of- We just can’t”_ Well that didn’t help ease suspicion.

_“Cause of what mittens? Is she a wanted criminal or something?”_

_“What? No, of course not! It’s just… She uses glyphs”_

_“Glyphs? As in the extremely dangerous outlawed magic!? As in the magic than can get you petrified just for knowing?”_

_“Yeah, that’d be it!”_

_“Amity are you fucking serious?! We can’t be seen with someone who uses glyph magic! Our family would be ruined by the rumours alone!”_

_“I know that Em I’m not stupid! But… She saved my life, I can’t just abandon her after that! At the very least I can take her somewhere where she can get help, that’s all I want!”_ That seemed to make Emira soften a little.

_“She saved your life?”_

_“Yeah, I got careless, I wasn’t paying attention. If she hadn’t taken shoved me out of the way I’d have died instantly. I owe it to her to at least see her somewhere safe”_

_“…Fine, we help her get somewhere safe, and then we leave! I_ _n any case, where exactly is ‘somewhere safe’?”_

_“Errr… well, that would be information I am not currently privy to…”_

_“So, you have no idea where that watch is taking us?”_

_“No”_

Emira took a deep breath, exhaling, then breathing in again to try and calm herself down. Before she could respond though, there was a crackle, and a voice rang out from the car speakers.

_“HOOT, it’s ok, you can truuuuust meeee, me and Amity are beeesssttt friiieeennnds”_

All 3 of the Blight siblings jumped at the voices sudden appearance. Ed managed to keep himself from jumping, seemingly quite focused on staying still with Luz on his lap, and Amity had half been expecting that since the moment she got into the car, but Emira was completely unprepared and smacked her head on the glass separator between her and the driver.

_“FUCK, OW, what on fucking earth was that!”_

_“That would be Hooty”_

_“Yup, that’s meeeee”_ The obnoxious voice continued to blare from the speakers.

_“The fuck is a ‘Hooty’?”_

_“That would be a sentient AI that Luz had on her watch”_

_“I’m sorry what? Did you just say_ _‘sentient’? Like as in, completely self-aware?”_

_“Yup”_

_“Ha, good one, those don’t fucking exist yet Mittens, you should be more than aware of that as a computer scientist!”_

_“I’m aware… but I’m not sure what else to call it since it’s yet since that’s what it calls itself and I can’t prove otherwise”_

_“I-what-how- Ok, even if it were somehow fucking sentient, why the hell does a random human girl have it on her fucking watch!?”_

_“You know as much as I do I’m afraid Em, Luz was already… well you know, when he finally revealed himself to me, and in the time since then I was pretty focused on getting us both down the mountain”_

_“Why were you even up there to begin with anyway? That’s one of the most dangerous places on the isles, the fact you almost died is proof enough of that!”_

_“I… I went to get a flower, and its not like we went to the top of the thing, we barely went a fifth of the way up!”_

_“It doesn't matter how far you went mittens, the demons inhabit that place from top to bottom and you’ve only just started combat training with Miss Clawthorne-“_

_“Why a flower?”_ It was Ed that interrupted her, drawing the sister’s attention back to him.

 _“Oh, errr, well, it’s a present… You guys remember Willow right? The girl that Boscha used to bully? Well, I ran into her recently and decided I wanted to try and apologise to her. It’s actually how I met Luz, they’re friends and she was the one I asked for help with apologising from. Willow loves flowers and this…”_ She removed the flower from her inside pocket, _“…is one of the few flowers she doesn’t have. Sure this might have been a pretty dumb idea in hindsight, but Luz said that this would 100% guarantee that she forgives me!”_

 _“I mean… that’s sweet and all mittens, I kinda thought that caring side of had died off, but was it really necessary to risk life and limb just to be friends? I mean, if you had a crush on her or something it would at least make a little more sense…”_ Emira settled back into her seat, at least calming down a little, though still keeping her head away from the speaker just in case.

_“Ok, I do NOT like Willow in that way, she was a nice person and I was needlessly cruel to her for a long time, I just want to show her I’m not the same person I was… but more than that, I just want a friend I’ve made myself and hasn’t been forced on me by mother, I figured Willow was a good place to start”_

Ed shifted his position a little, earning him a pained moan from the girl on his lap. He froze, careful not to move her anymore before continuing the conversation.

_“But I thought you’d started getting along with Boscha finally?”_

_“We… She’s at least become a little more bearable recently, but she keeps her usual nasty attitude whenever we’re in public. It’s not like I’m trying to replace her I just want to hang around someone I actually like, you know? You two have each other and I know you look out for me but I still can’t help but feel isolated sometimes, and when I can’t stand the only person I can actually call for company that feeling only gets worse”_

Ed and Em shared a sympathetic look, Ed reaching over to pat her on the shoulder while Emira just sighed.

_“Alright Mittens, we’ll keep this little… whatever this is, between us. I just really hope that other friend of yours survives long enough for us to get her help, I do not want to have to explain this to the authorities…”_

Finally, Amity’s attention was drawn back to the girl in her arms. She had been cradling Luz’s head with her arms as they spoke, so at the very least she looked comfortable, but that didn’t help to slow down the bleeding that had begun to finally soak through the new bandages she had applied earlier. She didn’t want to watch that though, it felt like time itself slowed down when she did, so instead, she returned her focus to Luz’s face. The Latinas face was scrunched up in pain, and she had developed a cold sweat that had already soaked the clothing around her shoulders and stuck her hair to her skin. She reached over with one hand and tentatively brushed the hair from her face. She had decided. Once this was over, and if she survived, she was going to make an effort to stay friends with Luz as well! As chaotic as it had been she had actually had rather enjoyed her company, and if the whole plan with Willow worked they’d probably hang out more often too.

Her attention was brought back to reality when the car pulled to a stop outside a dingy looking alley. They were somewhere in the outer edges of Bonesborough, were the ‘less fortunate’ individuals took up residence. The area had a reputation for lawlessness, and the imperial coven patrols had given up on the region years earlier, allowing it to fester and grow. The street itself was like something from a movie, graffiti-covered each wall and every other building seemed abandoned or boarded up. While not entirely vacant, the street held very few other people and those that were present seemed either drunk, unconscious or dead.

 _“W-wait, here? This is were we’re taking her?”_ Emira may have been the one to voice them but Amity shared her concerns, this place didn’t look safe for a soldier, nevermind a dying girl

_“HOOT, that’s riiiight! Just go down the alley!”_

_“Oh we are so getting mugged…”_ Ed grumbled from across the car, but was already opening the door.

Emira got out first and took Luz from Ed’s lap with some help from Amity, which allowed the two of them to get out themselves. With Luz in Emira's arms, the siblings stood at the entrance to the alley anxiously waiting to get out of sight while Amity took Hooty from Thomas.

_“Start driving and don’t stop, we’ll ring you when you need to come back ok?”_

_“Yes ma’am, I’ll stay close by”_

The window rolled up and Thomas drove away, leaving Amity and the twins to brave the nice threatening alleyway alone. Leading the pair, Amity made her way down the alley and into the dark, the light unable to reach down past the towering buildings at either side of them. The path continued past the buildings and down between the next two, before turning right. Other branching paths had been cut off as if to create a direct route towards somewhere, and as they walked Amity noticed a strange symbol that had been graffitied at set intervals along the walls. It appeared to be a rather strange mix between the symbols for the both beast keeping and healing, a baby griffon wrapped in the iconic blue bandages sat atop a pillow, often paired with an arrow pointing further into the alleyways. _At least that hinted at a healer, right?_ The trio continued on until finally turning one last corner to their target. Before them was a dead end, but one well lit by a series of electrical lights that the rest of the winding path dearly missed. At the very back, piled against the wall, was a large pile of dirt, a weird addition that Amity made note of. On the left-hand side was a red metal door with a large version of the symbol seen previously, and beside it a young man who seemed similarly aged to her siblings. He was dressed in a denim jacket above a plain white hoody and jeans, short brown hair with a rather pointy chin. From his ears she could tell he was a witch, though what magic he might use was still a mystery. At his side was a brown baseball bat that had been punctured with nails at various points around its tip, creating a rather vicious looking weapon. As they rounded the corner he turned to look at them, getting halfway through his greeting before his eye’s fell on Luz.

 _“Well, you’re a lot fancier than our usual gues- Luz? Who are you, did you do this?”_ His voice held a lot more caution than she had expected, and even a hint of worry, and his grip on his weapon tightened as he stood upright.

_“No! No, but she needs help, please, we were told to bring her here!”_

They stood in silence for a moment, his eyes scanning the trio for any hint of deception, but she guessed he wanted to help her as much as they did because his glare quickly softened.

 _“Alright, go…”_ They began moving towards the door, but Ed was stopped by the bat being placed in front of him, cutting him off from the girls. _“… but he stays out here, we only let 3 people in at a time, sorry but those are the clinic rules”_

_“What? Come on look at him he’s not a thr-“_

_“It’s fine mittens go, I’m happy to wait out here!”_

_“He’ll be fine, I don’t bite”_

Ed took a seat on the pile of dirt at the wall and motioned for her and Em to go inside which they reluctantly followed. At the very least that guy didn’t seem aggressive.

Her and Emira opened the door, and the first thing they noticed was the smell of bleach that wafted from inside but pushed forward anyway. They were greeted by a rather interesting sight. The inside of the ‘clinic’ as the man called it was exceptionally clean but compact. There was a small entryway that they were stood in currently that then opened up into what looked like an operating room in a hospital, though lacking the usual bright white style that they had and instead replacing it with a more homely wooden aesthetic. In the centre of the room was a raised metal counter that Amity guessed acted as a bed and beside it a tray full of the usual instruments of a doctor. The room itself was lit by a single larger light in the centre of the room, though there were several lights that lined the edge of the room that were currently turned off. There were 2 doors to the room beside the one they had come through on the far wall, one wooden and the other metal, plus a smaller sectioned off area to the left that looked like a compact kitchen with a sink, kettle and few other commodities. It was Emira who saw the small button on the wall that said, ‘Press for service’ and pushed it with her elbow. A long buzzing sound could be heard emanating from the other side of the wooden door, and it was quickly followed by a muffled _“Coming!”._

Moments later the door opened revealing a young woman, again similarly aged to her siblings, dressed in a purple hoodie, a rather interesting earring shaped like a fish hook, white apron, mask, and was partway through pulling on some rubber gloves. Unlike the young man outside, she didn’t even manage to say anything before her eyes fell on Luz, and immediately her the atmosphere turned serious.

_“Place her on the table”_

She moved quickly to the metal table in the centre of the room and motioned for Emira to place her down, which she quickly did before being shooed backwards. Once they were back far enough, the doctor reached over and pulled a curtain around that Amity hadn’t even noticed before, blocking their view of them.

_“Stay there”_

The siblings took a seat on a small bench against the wall and waited. Her tone was clear enough, stay exactly where you are and wait, and Amity wasn’t about to argue.

They were sat there for a while, roughly an hour, listening to the sounds of the doctor working. The sound of magic being cast, the occasional snipping of scissors, the clattering of tools hitting metal, and every sound only helped build to the anxiousness that Amity felt in her gut. Emira tried her best to help, holding Amity’s hand as they waited to see what happened, but Amity was far more focused on every little sound that came from beyond the curtain. When it was finally pulled back it was only for a moment, enough to let the doctor step past it and join the sisters before it fell back into place.

As she came into view she was removing her mask, her gloves already gone. Her apron was stained with blood, and it was clear she was tired, but Amity barely had a chance to stand up before a scalpel was thrust into her face. She slowly lowered self-back down onto the bench and joined Emira in raising her hands as the doctor glared down at both of them.

_“Who are you, and don’t lie cause I will know?”_

_“Amity Blight, Luz’s friend”_

_“Emira Blight, her sister”_

_“Her friend? She’s mentioned someone like you before, and I’d definitely remember being told about someone with green hair”_

_“I… We only became friends recently, like, in the past week, though I don’t know if she actually thinks of me as one…”_ That answer seemed to satisfy her.

_“And how on titan was she injured like that?”_

_“A goliath bear…”_

_“How… You know what, it’s Luz, that’s actually believable… Alright well, you did the right thing bringing her here. She’ll survive, barely, she just needs some rest. Normally this would be where you pay me, but since it’s Luz and you clearly don’t belong around here we’ll call this one on the house”_

_“Thank you ma’am”_

_“My names Viney by the way, not a fan of the whole ‘ma’am’ thing, especially not with people as young as me”_

_“Well, err Viney, we should probably be going, you seem rather busy and we wouldn’t want to get in your way!”_ Emira spoke up, and Amity could only glare at her sister. She didn’t want to leave until she knew Luz was ok, and in her mind that meant seeing her wake up.

_“Emira, we can’t just leave!”_

_“Sorry kiddo, but ya sisters right, this is a clinic after all, if you’re not hurt your only taking up two spots for other people who might need help”_

_“Oh…”_

_“See mittens? Let’s just go, you can check on your friend tomorrow or somethi-“_

She was interrupted by a series of coughs coming from beyond the curtain that was followed by a pained moan and rather hoarse voice. _Luz woke up already._

_“Where am I…”_

Even Viney seemed surprised at that and was too busy staring at the curtain to stop Amity from heading past it towards Luz, leaving her sister to keep the doctor occupied.

Past the curtain, resting on the metal table and covered only with a clean blanket was Luz. She had pulled herself up into a sitting position, the blanket falling only to cover her legs and leaving her chest and stomach bare. The wound had been stitched closed, the flesh regrown with the use of healing magic, and already Luz looked a lot better than she had an hour ago, though still far from perfect…

**Luz pov:**

_“Ahhh fuck my head hurts…”_ Luz held her head in her hands, trying to at least ease the incessant pounding that threatened to make her throw up. Amity stood beside her holding the blanket across her shoulders and chest, an act she appreciated even in the somewhat delirious state she was in. It had taken her a moment, _and Amity telling her but that didn’t count she would have figured it out_ , that she was in Viney’s clinic, though Luz truly had no idea how she had actually gotten here.

_“After what happened to you that doesn’t really surprise me…”_

The witches voice was laden with worry as she kept Luz covered and she almost felt bad, but she was focused on more important things at the moment. She had been up on that mountain with Amity, looking for… a flower, the midnight rose, and then… the demon came, the bear again… She had considered running… but Amity kept fighting it, she couldn’t just abandon her… so they fought it… and they won, right? Or they thought they had… and then it got back up again and she… _She fucking pushed Amity out of the way and took that swipe herself, was she stupid?!_

Her eyes flicked over to the girl beside her who was trying her best not to look in her general direction out of respect for her current attire. Why had she done that, the honestly wasn’t sure, but at the very least the witch had repaid the favour and managed to bring her here. Now the question was…

_“Hey… errr, how… how did you know… about this place…”_

_“Oh, errr, well, I found your watch and it told me?”_

_“My watch… Ohhhh, right yeah… that makes sense”_

_“H-Hey, are you ok? Maybe you should lie back down, I don’t want you to tear those stitches…”_

_“She’ll be fine, I use some pretty strong thread, it’d be hard for a knife to cut!”_

Viney spoke up from the other side of the curtain, and though Luz was yet to see her she knew that she owed the doctor her life once again.

_“She’s right, I’ll be fine… could you err… find my, errr, my clothes?”_

_“Oh, right of course!”_

_“I’ll need to get her some spares from the other room, I kinda cut hers up! Hold on”_ Viney spoke up again and Amity settled back to simply holding the blanket for Luz.

_“Shit, I liked that shirt…”_

_“Hey Luz? Thank you”_

_“…for?”_

_“For saving my life, I appreciate it, you didn’t have to do that, I never would have expected you too either, so thank you”_

The sudden apology, just the sincerity behind it, was enough to get Luz to blush as she turned away and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

_“Yeah don’t mention it, just figured I’d have a better chance of surviving than you would I guess…”_

She really wasn’t sure why she had done that, but for some reason she didn’t really regret it either, but maybe that was just because of the concussion. A few moments of awkward silence later and shirt and trousers were thrown over the curtain, landing on the floor beside the girls. Amity picked it up and held it out for her to take, which she did.

_“There, I’m lending you some of my clothes Luz so make sure I get them back”_

 _“Yeah, yeah, I know, relax…”_ She turned to Amity was still stood by her and just stared back at her for a moment before seeming to realise what she wanted.

_“Oh, right getting changed, yeah I’ll, err, I’ll wait over there!”_

She watched Amity scamper out to the other side of the curtain and join the conversation with Viney and whoever else was over there. She slowly pulled herself around so that her legs were hanging off the edge of the table and started to get dressed. She pulled on the shirt, a plain white one that hung loosely over her shoulders, then went to grab the rest but stopped. Along with the shirt Viney had decided to supply her with a short black skirt, and Luz considered throwing it back over the curtain and asking for something else. She hated wearing skirts with a passion, they just didn’t suit her style in any way, she was a jeans or shorts kinda girl, skirts were just too… feminine? Sure she had some herself, a couple at home since they had been gifts from Willow who insisted she looked fine in them, but she still only ever wore them when necessary, like when she had been physically incapable of putting on jeans. But, these clothes were being lent to her, and Viney would not appreciate being told that her clothing wasn’t good enough for her, so with a reluctant sigh she pulled it on too before sliding off the table. Her legs struggled to support her weight, but she was at least able to stop herself from falling over, leaving her with only the headache to deal with. Her beanie and shoes were on a shelf just behind her, so she reached up and grabbed those too, pulling the beanie on to hide the mess her hair had become, and leaving the shoes on the floor for later before pulling the curtain aside.

She recognised Viney, obviously, and Amity too, but the third girl was someone she hadn’t met or even seen before. Like Amity her hair was green, though a few shades darker, and seemed closer to Viney's age than her own. _An older sister then?_ She somewhat recalled Amity saying she had siblings at some point during one of their many meetings, but she hadn’t been expecting the tall beauty that was the girl sat in front of her. All three of the girls turned to look at her as she came into view, Viney wearing a smug smirk across her stupid face as she looked Luz up and down.

_“Hey, I like the outfit!”_

_“Shut up I hate you”_

_“Is that any way to talk to the person who just saved your life for a second time?”_

_“Yes, yes it is”_

The doctor rolled her eyes and made her way over to the little kitchen near to exit, flicking the kettle on.

_“Whatever, but I’ll totally be grabbing a picture for Willow! By the way, you’re staying here tonight so I can make sure there lasting problems, ok?”_

_“…fine, but I am not feeding your damn dogs again”_

It was at this point she realised that Amity was staring at her, which was weird, she didn’t like skirts, but she didn’t look _that_ bad right?

_“Look, I know skirts don’t suit me, you don’t have to stare”_

_“Huh? What, no that’s not why…”_

_“It’s fine Amity, wanna introduce me to big sis over there or am I supposed to guess her name?”_

_“Right, yeah… Luz, this is Emira my older sister, but you can just call her Em, Emira, Luz”_

_“Nice to meet you cutie!”_ The witch sent her a wink that Luz had not been expecting, causing her to blush for the second time that day.

_“Emira! What is it with you and flirting with every single one of my friends!?”_

_“What, she’s cute, I’m just complimenting her! You agree right?”_ aaaand now it was Amity’s turn to blush.

_“That is not relevant you ass!”_

_“But you aren’t denying it!”_

_“I swear to titan Emira I’m going to wring your fucking neck in!”_

_“Alright, alright, relax, we’re all friends here, and I certainly don’t mind compliments, especially from someone so gorgeous!”_ She returned the wink.

Emira and Amity had turned back to her as she began talking, both of who seemed pretty caught off guard by Luz’s retort. Amity only scowled, and Emira seemed to enjoy someone playing along with her for once. Regardless, it was enough to stop the sisters from arguing further and making her headache worse than it already was, long enough for Viney to rejoin the group with 2 cups of tea for herself and Luz.

_“Damn Luz, you building yourself a harem over here? You already got the punk one, stop hogging all the hot people!”_

_“Why vines, which one do you want?”_

She looked Emira up and down.

_“Well I’m not really into dating younger girls so I’ll take Miss ‘gorgeous’ if that’s alright”_

_“Alright, I’m happy taking cabbages!”_

It seemed that was more than Emira could handle, who was now furiously blushing along with her sister. Both girls, red-faced and green-haired, almost resembled tomato’s Luz thought, and that was enough start her laughing with Viney joining her soon after with the Blight sisters only able to glare at the two of them. Eventually though Viney was able to catch herself.

_“Alright, as fun as teasing rich girls is, this is still a clinic, and since they know you’re fine now it’s about time they left. I’ll have some more customers soon, and you know my rule”_

Luz just shrugged; she was honestly surprised they had stayed this long, but really didn’t have the brainpower to question why at that moment. She watched the sisters share a look before turning back to Viney and nodding.

_“Alright, thank you for helping her and, you know, not stabbing us with a scalpel”_

_“Course, and if you lovely ladies ever find yourself in need of a skilled doctor and unable to go to a regular hospital for whatever reason my clinic is always open!”_

_“I’ll err, text you later or something Luz?”_

_“Huh? Oh errr, sure that’s fine… Oh, wait you need the flower!”_

_“Oh, I got it don’t worry! I still want some help in actually giving it to her so, if you wouldn’t mind?”_

_“Yeah, no problem Ames! I’ll see you later”_

She didn’t wait for a response to that new nickname, she just hoped the witch didn’t mind it since cabbages was getting a little repetitive, before turning around and heading towards the wooden door. She really needed to sit down, and maybe if she was quick enough she could go steal some jeans before Viney got that picture. But more than anything, she really needed to text Eda.

_Inspiration for Jerbo! Go check out_ Kよよよ (@TGKush_) _on twitter for more amazing art!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was considering doing two full Amity chapters but decided against it.  
> Anyway, here's Jerbo and Viney and you would not believe how hard finding art of Jerbo is, but I found something good, and it was the inspiration for what he was wearing today.
> 
> If anyone knows how you insert art into these stories i'd appreciate a hint cause I can't figure it out, and i'd love to post some of the art I use as inspiration and credit the artists.


	13. Grounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, sorry this ones late again folks, and even worse off it's shorter than usual, my own university started up this week and several 9am lectures killed a lot of my motivation despite waking me up earlier. I'll make it up to you next week though with a nice juicy combat scene, WOOO

**Luz pov:**

_“So Eda’s grounded you? Seriously?!”_ Willow continued, barely able to stop herself laughing at her friend’s misfortune while Luz groaned into her arms. They were sat in the storefront of the Owl house at one of the many empty tables, the store itself being closed that Sunday afternoon.

 _“The great and dangerous Owl assassin, grounded! Oh boy, ok, I’m almost done!”_ Willow giggled, finally managing to force out the end of her sentence between gasps for air.

_“Will you shut it Willow, this fucking sucks and I didn’t get you over here just to mock me!”_

_“Aww, what ya gonna do little owlet? If I step outside you can’t follow me!”_

All that earned her was a muffled growl before she finally raised her head. She had gotten back to the owl house about 3 days ago after she had finally managed to convince Viney to let her leave, only to find herself facing down the wrath of a _very_ pissed off owl lady. See, Luz had perhaps, possibly, maaaaybe forgot to tell Eda where exactly it was she was going when she had asked for two days off… 8 days ago now, so understandably when Luz came home in stitches and bandages 3 days later than she was supposed to her guardian was less than pleased. Eda had grounded her for 2 weeks, _grounded her! SHE WAS 20 YEARS OLD!_ And here she was on the 3rd day having not been anywhere besides university, rotting away in her room bored out of her mind as she desperately searched for something, anything to do. One such attempt, in this case, was inviting Willow over to keep her company, an attempt that had so far just resulted in her being laughed at for over 30 minutes.

_“Are you done?”_

_“Almost”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“Alright now I’m done”_ Willow wiped away a tear.

_“So, Hiker girl, gonna tell me what you were doing climbing the knee with your new best bud?”_

_“New ‘best bud’?”_

_“Yeah, you know, Little miss Blight? You told me you went on this little trip with her right?”_

_“Yes, I did, but that does not make us ‘best buds’, I did in return for a favour! Do you know how valuable a favour from one of the richest people in the country is!”_

_“Sure thing Luz, whatever ya say”_ She followed with a sigh.

 _“But, what exactly were you even looking for up there anyway, If it were just for fun I imagine there are a hundred different mountains around that would have been a lot safer for you…”_ She smirked.

_“Oh, who knows, I heard it was nice this time of year and I had a yearning for death yanno?”_

_“Uh-huh, so are you sure you didn’t just want an opportunity to hit on the hot girl? I know you swing both ways Luz and if we’re being frank you nearly dying for a chance to flirt is not the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do”_

_“Oh, come on, I set fire to the school ONE TIME Willow, let it go!”_ She let her head flop back into her arms.

_“As for why we went up there… Well, you’ll just have to find out won’t you!”_

_“Is_ that _why she randomly invited me out today?”_

_“S-She did? Then yeah, I guess, you’ll enjoy it I promise!”_

Willow gave her an odd look at that, but ultimately gave up when it became clear that she was getting nothing else from the miserable assassin.

 _“Well whatever, keep your secrets little owlet!”_ She leant back in her chair and kicked her feet up onto the table, earning her a glare from Luz

_“So, that aside, what exactly are you going to do for the next 12 days? I mean, you can’t leave the café for anything besides uni and Eda is tracking you when you do… Have you even spoken to her since your fight?”_

_“…Not exactly, I mean, it’s hard, she is_ really _scary when she’s mad! I’m gonna try talking to her again later once you leave but I don’t have high hopes, she was seriously pissed when I finally got home”_

 _“Well, you did almost die, hell from what Viney told me if it wasn’t for the Blight you_ would _be dead, I really can’t blame her for being annoyed, and yanno, if we’re being honest here, I’m kinda pissed off with you to”_ Her voice became terrifyingly stern towards the end, in a way only Willow could manage, that made Luz flinch.

_“Look, I told you I’m sorry! I figured I’d be fine; we weren’t even going that far up! Why there were even one of those stupid demons down there to begin with I don’t know, they’re apex predators I very much doubt it was forced from the mountain top”_

_“Yeah well next time you decide to plan a lovely little romantic suicide trip make sure you TELL SOMEONE! God, sometimes I wonder how you’re so successful as an assassin given you can be thick as pig shit sometimes…”_

_“Rude”_

_“Well, I hope whatever you ask for from her is worth all this crap, and I sure as hell hope whatever it is she’s got for me tomorrow was worth her almost getting my friend killed cause if it isn’t she’s gonna be going home in a body bag”_

_“Please don’t kill the person I worked very hard to get a favour from before I can use it”_

_“No promises Little Light!”_

_“…You know I hate that name right?”_

_“You call people dumb nicknames all the time, I figure you deserve a little karmic payback every once in a while”_

_“And nearly being torn in half isn’t enough for you?”_

_“Well, only the bear got to enjoy that, I on the other hand did not, so no, no it’s not!”_

With a heavy sigh, Luz pulled herself to her feet and stretched. The pair had been sat at the table for well over an hour now and frankly, she could only put up with her dear friend for so long before she felt an overwhelming urge to start a fight she knew she wouldn’t win and instead brought her phone from her pocket. She had gotten Amity’s number during their daily planning sessions the other week but hadn’t seen nor talked to her since their conversation at the client. She must have been making some kind of face because Willow spoke up again.

_“Yanno, why don’t you just text her first if you’re that bothered by it?”_

She stuffed her phone back into her pocket with a small sigh.

 _“First off, I was checking my emails, second off, if she wanted to talk to me she could of messaged me at any point, she did before, and finally, even if I_ wanted _to stay in contact with her, you know as well as I do that it’ll only end badly. She’s the daughter of one the most prominent and powerful families on the isles, one that is completely and utterly loyal to the emperor. She’s cool, sure, but if she hangs around me and I get caught? Her social standing would be ruined, her family’s reputation would be brought into question, it’s not worth the risks for her or for me, it’s better that we just go back to acquaintances…”_

_“Luz… I don’t think-”_

_“Anyway…”_ She cut Willow off, _“You have a meeting due and_ I _have some work to do on my rifle, so thanks for the company Parks, I appreciate it!”_ Willow raised an eyebrow at that.

 _“Fine, I can take a hint, I’ll go, just let me know when you can take jobs again alright, my dad has a special shipment he wants you to guard solo…”_ She stood up from the table and brought a packet of cigarettes from her pocket, taking one from the packet with her lips and lighting it with a small flame spell on the tip of her finger. She took a deep breath before letting the smoke blow across the room and into Luz’s face, which she angrily waved away.

_“…and the pay is pretty good. Oh, and Viney has a job for you too, so make sure you convince Eda to let you out of the house again soon alright?”_

_“You know there’s no smoking in here right, if Eda catches you she’ll break your wrist”_

_“Ha, the old owl can try but I ain’t the pushover I was before, I’ll give her a run for her money!”_

As she spoke she made her way over to the exit, opening it up and stepping outside into the light rain that was just about dying off, soon to be followed by the sun.

_“Oh and hey, if you do see Amity and don’t kill, can you ask her what happened to my satchel? I got my watch back from Jerbo, and most of my other belongings were in my bag no matter how torn up they were, but that was missing”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I’ll ask, I don’t need the entire story Luz”_

_“Oh, piss off Parks, just make sure you ask”_

With that, she let the door slam shut on her friend, making her way back over the table they were sat at and collapsing back into her chair. She brought her phone from her pocket and absentmindedly opened her messages. She had had a dozen messages from Eda during her absence at Viney’s, as well a dozen job requests she had, unfortunately, had to turn down while she ‘recovered’, alongside a few messages from Gus and Willow, hell, even a message from Matt asking where she was, but nothing from Amity. She assumed that the witch was sticking to the original deal, and now that she had her gift she had no longer had any reason to associate with her, which pissed her off sure, but she had been the one that set that deal in the first place, so she couldn’t exactly complain. Now all that was left was to figure out what she could get from the girl in the favour she owed her, maybe a get out of jail free card, or a new bike if hers got damaged or one of those new exo-skeletons they were developing for coven guards… Or then again, maybe she’d just hold onto it for the time being, because right now she had to think about how she was going to convince Eda to let her little owlet fly again.

**Amity pov:**

It was a Sunday morning, and Amity had been sat outside this quaint little coffee shop in downtown Bonesborough for about an hour now. She had finally managed to work up the courage to text Willow and was currently waiting for her to show up while she sipped on her coffee. Sure, she had shown up half an hour early, but that also meant that she was now 30 minutes late, and Amity was beginning to think that she might not come. _Not that she could blame her obviously._ She sat at a small glass table outside the shops entrance, her raincoat and umbrella sitting at her side with the rain having finally dropped off and letting the sun begin warming her up while she enjoyed the fresh air that accompanied the drizzle. In the north at least, where Bonesborough was situated, the rain was what most people consider ‘normal’, though she had heard that it was far more dangerous in the south. She continued to wait though, mostly because she rather enjoyed the atmosphere out here with the sun and the rain, and even if Willow didn’t show, she could just go kick her door down and give it to her herself, there was no rush.

_“Well hey there baby blight!”_

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and for the briefest moment froze up, though she couldn’t explain why. It took her brain a second to process, but she quickly recognised the voice and let herself relax, _just a little,_ before responding.

_“Afternoon Willow, thank you for coming”_

Willow circled around until she stood on the opposite side of the table, kicking out one of the chairs with her foot and dropping down into it, digging her hands into her pockets and turning her attention to Amity. She was dressed in a dark green turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up and some plain brown trousers and had a pair of large round red-rimmed glasses that somehow only made her look all the more intimidating when paired with the cigarette in her mouth. With her arms on display, Amity could finally get a good look at just how much her old victim had been hitting the gym, and in that moment she was beyond thankful the witch had never seen fit to look for revenge, cause Amity was sure she’d of died. Her arms were like trunks, lined with tattoos of twisting thorned vines that snaked their way across her skin, a different style entirely to Luz’s.

_“Sure thing Blight, but are you gonna explain what you dragged me out here for? And it had better be good because if you wasted Luz’s time for something stupid you’re gonna wanna start running”_

Her voice was sickly smooth, full of venom that only made Amity squirm in her seat. She had thought that Willow wasn’t holding much of a grudge towards her, it didn’t really seem that way during their brief meeting at the Owl house, but right now it seemed like that couldn’t be further from the truth, and she had no idea how one little flower was going to change that. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…

 _“W-well…”_ She took a deep breath, “ _I just wanted to apologise, for bullying you, for not stopping Boscha, for you and that kid you hung around with… We were horrible to you and I just wanted you to know I’m not the same person I was back then alright?”_

The witch narrowed her eyes at her, taking a long drag of her cigarette and blowing the smoke across the table into her face. Amity didn’t move though, not like she minded the smell of smoke, and frankly, she didn’t want Willow to think she was a pushover.

_“You dragged me out here in the rain to say ‘sorry’? Great, and here I was told this was gonna be worth my time… Look Blight, you made my life hell for years, you’re lucky I choose to just leave you alone, but I aren’t playing these games with you just so you can feel better about yourself. Sit and lament bitch, you deserve the guilt”_

She let the smoke clear, _and the insult slide,_ before responding.

_“Look, Willow, I do feel guilty, but I’m not doing this just to make myself feel better alright? I- I want to make it up to you, and to do that… I wanna be friends”_

That seemed to catch the witch off guard who just stared at her blankly for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Amity could only try her best to hide her embarrassment while she let her companion catch her breath, an ordeal that took well over 5 minutes.

_“Ok, let me get this straight Blight… You, Amity Blight, want to suddenly be friends again? I’m sorry, my memory must be acting up, cause if I remember correctly I wasn't 'good enough’ to be around you, I wasn’t ‘high class enough’, that I would only damage your reputation! And now, here you are, with the balls to ask me to be friends with you again. Oh, my dear Blight you were always a bitch but I at last thought you were smart”_

_“I’m sorry alright, my parents threatened you! I just wanted to protect you from them and to do that I had to cut you off”_

_“Protect me? Were the years of bullying after that to protect me too?”_

_“I… Well, no, I was just… I don’t know, they were the friends my mother chose for me and I was afraid that if I defended you she would…”_ She froze again, this time though to stop herself from admitting something that shouldn’t be public knowledge. Instead, she took another deep breath, allowing herself to calm down.

_“Look, I was a shit person, I know, I’m not denying that… But, I’m not the same person I was back then Willow, all I want is an opportunity to prove that to you, just one. If you don’t like the peace offering I brought then fine, I’ll leave and I’ll never speak to you again, but at least consider it”_

_“Peace offering huh? Alright, I’m game Blight, I don’t know what it is you’ve gotten me, but I’ll give you a chance_ only _because Luz went through the effort to help you get it”_

Good enough. Amity nodded, then reached down and picked up her bag, resting it on her lap as she rifled through it, eventually producing a small rectangular casing and laying it on the table, pushing it over to Willow with a smile. She took the case, eying her curiously as she slowly began removing the ribbon around it.

_“The hell is this supposed to be, you buy me a Rolex or something?”_

_“Not quite, just open it and find out”_

With the ribbon carefully removed and placed on the table Willow removed the lid from the casing and Amity watched a range of emotions cross her face. First was disinterest, followed by confusion, then realisation, shock and then confusion once again. She delicately lifted the flower from the case, inspecting it from all angles, careful as though a single wrong touch could have the plant disappear from her grasp entirely. Eventually, she placed the flower back down into the case and turned her attention back to Amity.

_“T-this is… How did you get this? How much did this cost y- No wait, you didn’t buy this did you, this is what you and Luz went up the knee to collect!?”_

_“Yup, I went to her and asked her what the best way to apologise would be and she told me that if I was serious I should get you that… I’m guessing that’s the right plant then, going off your reaction?”_

_“Oh it’s the right fucking plant alright, Amity you have no idea how long I’ve been looking for this… a-and Luz just_ gave _this to you, no fight or anything?”_

_“Errr, yeah I guess, though I guess I do owe her a favour now…”_

_“Holy shit Amity, this is… I don’t even know what to say, you got this to me just to apologise?”_

_“Mm-hm”_

_“And you are aware of exactly how valuable this plant is right?”_

_“W-well I was told it was very valuable, not the exact worth though…”_

_“Amity this plant you just handed me is…”_ She leant in and lowered her voice to a whisper, _“…It’s gotta be worth well over a million snails”_

Well now it was Amity’s turn to be caught off guard, and mid-way through a sip of coffee no less, which she ultimately ended up spitting out and violently coughing.

_“I’m sorry fucKING WHAT?!”_

_“Ah ah ah, shut up idiot, do you want everyone looking over here?”_

_“…point taken”_

_“Yeah, this is a stupidly valuable plant and you have no idea just how hard it is to get one, and I can assure you that Luz was well aware of it’s value, that’s why I’m so surprised she just gave it to you… You owe her more than a fucking favour for this”_

_“Yeah, I guess so… But, that aside, does this… you know, clear us up? We good?”_

_“Clear us up? Amity I’ll be your fucking wife if that’s what it takes to get this flower, this sure as shit clears us up, fuck the bullying you just paid that back ten-fold!”_

Amity really hadn’t been expecting that to work quite as well as it had but wasn’t going to complain either. Luz was right, this had been a guaranteed success from the start, but now she was left with other questions, like why the girl who lived in a room smaller than her closet just willingly handed over millions of snails in return for a ‘favour’.

_“Really? Huh… That worked a lot better than I thought it would”_

_“HA, damn right it did, honestly of all the things you coulda given me, this was the only one that gets you a second chance… use it wisely Amity, mess up again and there’ll be nothing left in this world you can give me to make me change my mind”_

_“Yeah, got it”_

_“Look, sorry to cut our little date short but I gotta get this thing home and planted…”_ She stood up and kicked her chair back under the table, but stopping just as she passed Amity to finish her sentence, _“But honestly, you should really text Luz, if we’re gonna be friends, the two of you are too, so try and get along ok?”_

Amity didn’t even get a chance to respond before Willow had vanished into the crowds of passer-by’s, leaving Amity alone at the coffee shop table. _Text Luz huh?_ Honestly, she had intended to message her the day after she got home from the clinic, but it turns out coming home covered in cuts and scrapes and torn clothes in front of her mother was a very quick way to end up locked in her room. She was technically supposed to still be there now, but after Edric had snuck her phone back to her she basically had nothing to do but sneak out and get the present to Willow before it died. Thing is, when she got her phone after 3 days of isolation, she realised that Luz hadn’t messaged her once since then, even to help her set up a meeting with Willow which she did herself. That just meant that she was sticking to the deal right? She was done with Amity now, and trying to contact her instead would only seem creepy… _But then again, Willow had just given her the perfect excuse,_ and making 2 friends in one day all on her own, that would an achievement alright. She removed her phone from her bag and opened her messages with Luz, taking a moment to reread over the last messages between them that appeared on the screen, just a quick conversation about when she’d be arriving at the knee’s base. She hesitantly began typing out a message, unsure exactly of what to say, and so instead went with something simple.

_A: Hey Luz, I realise you said I shouldn’t message you anymore after we finished our business, but the apology to Willow went really well, I just wanted to say thank you_

_L: Oh, sure, ur welcome, Willow really needed some new friends 2 torment anyway yanno?_

_A: Yeah well, she said that since we were gonna be friends I should try and get along with you too!_

_L: Of course she did, flower ain’t enough for her is it!_

_A: Sooo even though I know you said we were only friends until our business was over and all… You wanna stay friends? I mean, if not I don’t mind…_

_L: You sure? I’m not exactly the kinda person someone like you should be seen around yanno? At least Willows parents own a successful business, I’m just a barista_

_A: Luz, I’ve spent my whole life with friends my parents chose for me, I’m honestly past caring who I should and shouldn’t be around. We got along right? I know I kinda messed up a little bit, but we still have a lot in common, I’d be happy to get 2 friends for the very expensive price of one!_

_L: Willow tell you bout the flower then?_

_A: Yup_

There was a small pause in the texting, with the typing bubble popping up and down several times before the next message came through.

_L: You know what, sure Ames, if you want to we can stay friends, if for no other reason than to keep Willow happy_

_A: Ames huh? Well I like that a lot more than ‘Cabbages’ at least, now I just need find you a nickname…_

_L: Yeah, let’s not, I rather like Luz as it is -_-_

And just like that Amity blight had landed herself 2 friends in the span of an hour, maybe she was better at this than she thought. She was a little surprised that Luz had actually agreed to stay friends, especially after the whole tattoo incident, but she supposed saving her life probably earned her a few points in that regard. Still, the conversation left a weird warmth in her chest that she couldn’t really explain, and it only got worse when she called her ‘Ames’. Weird, but nice, and Amity chalked it up to feeling of actually earning some friends for the first time in her life… At least, that’s what she thought it was, _right?_

**Willow pov:**

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“FUCK I FORGOT TO ASK ABOUT THE SATCHEL”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ain't got much to say down here, but if you can think of a cute (unromantic) nickname for Luz i'd love some suggestions!
> 
> Oh, and I added some art for Jerbo on the last chapter that you should go check out real quick once you finish, Luv u all <3


	14. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, a shorter one this time, but I'll make up for it with a longer one next week, you have my word!

**Luz pov:**

Even after Willow had left, Luz lacked the energy or motivation to leave her seat in the empty storefront, instead opting to watch the clouds and people pass by as the rain gradually died down. At some point King and Owlbert had joined her by the window, and not long after that had the sun managed to pierce the clouds, filling the café with a warm golden glow. As the trio basked in the warmth of the son Luz let her mind wander to the conversation she had just had. Willow hadn’t been far from the mark with her assumptions as usual _,_ Luz had been considering contacting Amity herself during her lockdown if for no other reason than to have someone to talk to but had managed to stop herself so far. Even if she were to admit that she liked Amity, the Witch being friends with her would only serve to put her in danger, something Luz really didn’t want to do to someone she wanted to be friends with.

Amity was the daughter to one of the most powerful men under the emperor, and the heir to the largest business on the isles, she had a bright and safe future… But if Luz were ever captured, or discovered, that could put the Blights, Blight corp, and Amity herself in a lot of trouble. Luz knew she should just cut her contact with the witch for both their safeties and yet here she was once again staring at her phone and hoping to see her name pop up in her notifications. For reasons she couldn’t understand she just couldn’t get Amity out of her head, and that had been causing her no end of grief over the past few days.

King must have noticed her inner turmoil though as he laid his snout on her thigh with a small grunt. His efforts were joined by Owlbert too who landed on her forearm, giving her a worried little hoot of concern.

 _“Thanks guys, but I’m fine, In the grand scheme of things nothing has actually changed after all, I still have Willow and Gus!”_ She stood up, Owlbert fluttering his way to one of the many perches along the ceiling while King lazily dragged himself to his feet, determined to follow her no matter how comfy he might have been.

_“Now let’s go do something actually productive huh? We could do some training, or I could play around with the jacket some more, or hey maybe I could finally learn that son-“_

She was cut off by the sudden buzz of her phone in her pocket. _Weird timing but ok._ She took out her phone once more and looked at the notification… and then she looked again, and one more time just to be sure. There, in her notifications, was a message from Amity. _What did Willow do?_ Whatever the case, Luz found herself quickly sitting back down as she opened the message.

_A: Hey Luz, I realise you said I shouldn’t message you anymore after we finished our business, but the apology to Willow went really well, I just wanted to say thank you_

She felt the hope in her chest die a little, she really hadn’t been expecting Amity to be the one to contact her but if it was just to say thank you then she really shouldn’t expect much. She typed her response and waited.

_L: Oh, sure, ur welcome, Willow really needed some new friends 2 torment anyway yanno?_

_A: Yeah well, she said that since we were gonna be friends I should try and get along with you too!_

Oh. So, this was Willows game was it? She realised Luz wasn’t going to message her, so she had Amity message her first instead.

_L: Of course she did, flower ain’t enough for her is it!_

_That scheming little…_ But, with that in mind, while she wasn’t exactly wrong that didn’t mean she was right either, it wouldn’t be hard to keep them separated even if they were friends, this was just a way for Willow to give her a poor excuse to keep talking to Amity. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

_A: Sooo even though I know you said we were only friends until our business was over and all… You wanna stay friends? I mean, if not I don’t mind…_

Her eyes widened, and she felt a smile creeping across her face. She hadn’t really thought about putting a label on her time spent with Amity in the mountain, but calling the person who saved her life her friend wasn’t something she was averse to… Still, she knew that this was a bad idea, she was a criminal and Amity’s involvement with her could only end badly, not that Amity knew that of course… But, even in her spare time, when she was ‘just Luz’, she was still just one of the trashy punks that roamed around Bonesborough’s slums and abandoned districts, was Amity even really thinking about this properly? _I mean, her parents can’t seriously like the idea of her hanging around some street rat right?_

_L: You sure? I’m not exactly the kinda person someone like you should be seen around yanno? At least Willows parents own a successful business, I’m just a barista_

And an assassin, but she didn’t need to know that one.

_A: Luz, I’ve spent my whole life with friends my parents chose for me, I’m honestly past caring who I should and shouldn’t be around. We got along right? I know I kinda messed up a little bit, but we still have a lot in common, I’d be happy to get 2 friends for the very expensive price of one!_

Ahhh, how was she supposed to argue with that? She had kinda been hoping Willow wouldn’t mention the flowers price tag to Amity, mostly because she didn’t want to think about just how much money she had given away to the witch, but that was beside the point. Amity wanted to stay friends!

 _“You here that King?”_ The old dog raised his head to look at her, curious.

 _“She wants to stay friends! Lucky me right, I didn’t even have to do anything!”_ The excitement in her voice must have been noticeable because before she knew it King was by her side with a tail swinging around like a damn baseball bat. She gave him a quick pat before sending another quick response to buy her some time while she thought.

_L: Willow tell you bout the flower then?_

_A: Yup_

Ok, that wasn’t quite as much time as she had hoped for but whatever. This was the moment she had to decide in, whether or not she kept Amity in her life. On one hand, it was dangerous, dangerous for Luz to be around someone whose parents were devout loyalists to the Emperor, and dangerous for Amity to be associated with Luz should her crimes come to light. On the other hand, though, Luz really wanted a normal friend. She had hoped that Willow would fill that role when she first met her, but as it had turned out she too wasn’t quite ‘normal’, and while Gus _had_ been normal, he had since been recruited Willows family and was now also a part of that world. Amity wasn’t, not yet, and if she was lucky she could keep it that way. She could have a normal friend. However, Luz’s identity wasn’t a complete secret either, she hadn’t always had a mask and there were plenty of individuals and groups that knew who she was. She had enemies, and while sticking by the Owl mercenary was a good way to keep herself safe, Amity wouldn’t have that protection… and yet Luz knew she could handle herself just fine. After their first meeting she had researched the girl, and to her surprise, Amity was one of the most prominent and powerful Abomination mages on the continent, she could easily protect herself, _hopefully._ Luz typed the next response, realising she had been thinking for a few moments and took a deep breath before hitting send. She hoped this wouldn’t end poorly for either of them.

_L: You know what, sure Ames, if you want to we can stay friends, if for no other reason than to keep Willow happy_

_A: Ames huh? Well I like that a lot more than ‘Cabbages’ at least, now I just need find you a nickname…_

Oh, shit, she hadn’t meant to call her that again. Honestly she had gotten a little self-conscious about that one during her time at the clinic, mostly because Viney had kept calling it a pet name despite Luz’s insistence that wasn’t the case. She had needed a new nickname for the witch, and came up with one on the spot, but now Viney had made it weird and she didn’t want to use it anymore. Again though, a problem for another day, cause right now the last thing she wanted was a nickname of her own. Willows attempts at that always left her annoyed, and besides… that was her thing!

_L: Yeah, let’s not, I rather like Luz as it is -_-_

There were no responses after that, she supposed that Willow was still with her and they were busy catching up or something, leaving Luz alone once again. But this time things were different, a weight had been lifted from her chest, and Luz had managed to score herself a new friend that Willow wasn’t going to kill the moment she met. In her books that was a win, a major one, and now all she had to do was get herself ungrounded!

It was about an hour later that Eda finally returned home from her trip, settling herself down in the living room beside Luz. Ever since she had been grounded, she had kind of been giving Eda the cold shoulder, mostly out of spite, and it had created somewhat of an awkward atmosphere within the household that anyone could notice. When the two of them shared a room, even king would make his presence sparse. It was a punishment of her own creation, but one she was now regretting immediately as she tried to find a way to break through the silence. Luckily, Eda chose to do that for her.

_“So, still not talking to me kid?”_

She sounded tired, not so unusual these days granted but every time Luz heard it, it would eat at her more, especially if she was the reason for that exhaustion. In any case, this was as good an opportunity as any to finally break the silence.

_“…No, I guess not”_

That seemed to catch Eda off guard, blinking at Luz a few times before smiling.

_“Well about time you stopped pouting, I may call ya one but ya ain’t a kid anymore Luz, you can’t grumble just cause you’re in trouble”_

_“Oh, no, I’m still mad, I’ve just decided to actually talk about it”_ Eda raised an eyebrow.

_“Ohhh, and why exactly the change of heart?”_

_“I’m in a good mood, I made a friend”_

_“Huh? You making up imaginary friends now kid cause I don’t see how you could of made a friend otherwise… unless you went outside that is”_

Her tone got dangerous towards the end and Luz knew she had to tread carefully, Eda did not take kindly to Luz breaking her rules.

 _“No, believe it or not mobile phones are thing grandma, keep up with the times”_ She smirked.

That was enough to ease the tension that had built up, Eda turning her attention back towards the tv and frowning.

 _“Who are you calling old, I’ll have you know I’m not a day over 35!”_ Luz snorted at that.

_“Psh, more like 45 ya old go- OW”_

Eda landed a heavy chop to her head, shutting her up.

_“Well, ya wanted to talk, I imagine you want to get out of your punishment… Well it ain’t happening buttercup, sorry, so suck it up and stop crying”_

_“I don’t understand why you’re so mad, it’s not like I got caught by coven guards or something, it was just a wild animal!”_ Eda’s eye twitched.

 _“Just an animal huh? Well if you’re getting your ass beat by an overgrown furball maybe you ain’t cut out for our line of work”_ She snapped back.

_“What!? I thought that fucking thing with a knife and like 10 glyphs, that’s impressive no matter how you look at it!”_

_“Sure, it would have been if you ain’t nearly got yaself killed dumbass! Infact, I retract that, let’s go over how exactly you fucked up shall we?”_

Luz began to shrink back

 _“First, you lie to my face, one of the few rules I have is that you tell me where the fuck you’re going so that I can help if anything happens, LIKE THIS TIME. Two, you use your glyphs in front of a civilian, moreover one that’s involved with the emperor’s largest supporters, it’s a miracle she hasn’t reported you yet. Three, you let that SAME PERSON meet hooty, again, someone who is related to the company specifically trying to design other, better, more dangerous versions of Hooty…”_ She continues, growing louder with each sentence, the tv being drowned out as Luz only grew smaller and smaller.

_“…Four, and this is the most important one kiddo so listen up and listen good, YOU NEARLY FUCKING DIED, you WOULD have died if that Amity girl hadn’t personally dragged your sorry ass down that mountain herself and taken you to Viney. You- You nearly died Luz, and the scary part is I would have been none the wiser for days, just waiting for my little Owlet to come back home…”_

Eda’s hands clenched, tears began to form, and Luz felt the guilt drive deeper into her being. She was fucking stupid, that was for sure. It was easy to forget sometimes, Eda often acted as a teacher, as a boss, but she was more than that. Eda was her mother's partner, and she had promised her mother she’d keep her safe. Even if she didn’t act like it, Eda was basically her mother over here on the isles, of course she was going to be mad.

_“…What would I have done if you didn’t come home kid… Your ma relies on me, and I know you don’t see me as anything more than a landlord, I don’t blame you, you hardly know me, but damn kid that doesn’t mean I don’t love ya!”_

Ahhh crap, and now Luz was crying too dammit.

_“And think of your Ma kid, how would she feel if you never came home. You’re her only hope of paying off that debt, you can’t just throw your life away like that. Whether you wanna admit it or not, you royally fucked up this time, and you’re lucky I don’t just send ya back to the states”_

Luz stayed quiet, letting the out of breath Eda calm down and slouch back down into the couch. With a sigh, she dragged the old blanket across her legs and rested her right arm on the armrest, then her cheek on her palm. They stayed like that for a while, Luz wasn’t sure exactly how long, but eventually she thought it safe enough to speak up.

 _“I’m sorry Eda…”_ Her voice was quieter than intended, but it seemed Eda heard her anyway, her eyes flickering over to Luz, then back to the TV.

 _“I-I never meant to make you worry, but please don’t send me back”_ Her voiced cracked and Eda flinched.

_“I just wanted to help someone, to make a friend who isn’t a criminal, or a smuggler, or an assassin… I knew that if I told you wouldn’t let me go, but you’re right, I lied and I’m sorry”_

Still no response.

_“I know I fucked up too, but I wouldn’t of done those things if I didn’t think I could trust Amity. She’s a Blight yes, but she isn’t like her father or mother, at least not going off what I’ve seen from them on TV. She’s smart and powerful, and on top of all that, she owes me a massive favour now! You know how valuable that would-“_

_“Favours can be ignored kid”_ She finally grumbled.

_“But Amity won’t, I guarantee it!”_

_“How can you possibly know that? From what I can tell you’ve barely known she exists for a month, and her little trips here have only been going on for a couple of weeks, she could be using you Luz”_

_“Using me for what? She doesn’t know who I am, and she won’t find out, but I can use her! It’ll pay off Eda, just trust me!”_

_“I DO trust ya kid, or at least, I did… No, I still do, if you really think it’ll pay off that’s great, but it was still a massive risk to take, and you’re still grounded”_

_“Eda… please, I can’t stay cooped up in here, it’s driving me insane! I won’t take any jobs, but at least let me go outside again!”_ This was it, her last desperate plea, if this didn’t work she was just gonna have to suffer.

 _“No, you ain’t going nowhere…”_ Shit, _“Well, not until you beat me in a sparring match 5 times in a row at least”_ Her head snapped back up and towards her, who was giving her a sad smile.

_“Seriously?”_

_“Yeah, I know how energetic you are, even if I did keep you here you’d just sneak out eventually… but kid, if this happens again? If I get a call from Viney telling me you’re bleedin to death on her table, that’s it, you’re out of this business for good, got it?”_

_“Wait… What, Eda you can’t ju-“_

_“GOT IT?”_

She stared at Eda for a moment, her anger beginning to resurface… but it died off again when she saw the look in Eda’s eyes, the same look her mami gave her when she had first started down this path, a look she really couldn’t fight against.

_“…got it”_

_“Alright then”_ Eda settled back, and the awkward tension began to return, but Luz was already done with this. Tomorrow she’d kick Eda’s ass and get out of this house no matter how many times she had to spar with her, and then? Well, then it was just back to business as usual, and Luz had built up quite a lot of business to get through once she was out of here. She got up and moved towards the hall, stopping in the doorway to the room.

_“Hey Eda…”_

_“Hm?”_

_“You’re more to me than just a landlord, you know that right?”_

_“…Yeah, I know that kid”_

_“Hey Eda…”_

_“Hm?”_

_“Love you”_

_“…Yeah, I love you too kid”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got a main plot line for this story ready to go, but since it's my pride and joy I wanna flesh it out with some side stories. So, from this point forward, if any of you fine folks have an idea for a fun little side story you'd wanna see written throw it down in the comments and I'll see if I can fit it in between plot points!


	15. An old flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so, sorry for the absence last week folks, I decided to take a lil break since we finished the first story arc for this fic.  
> This little chapter serves to give us some backstory and buy me some time while I work on Arc number 2.
> 
> For everyone asking for Lumity and Boschlow etc, they're coming I promise, but this is A, primarily an action focused fic, and more so it is a slow burn, so these relationships are going to take their time to develop. if you're patient, I shall do my best to reward that

**Luz pov:**

It had taken Luz almost 6 hours for her to finally beat Eda 3 times consecutively, and even then she suspected she had only managed it because Eda felt bad. They had started that Sunday morning, since the shop was closed, and yet again Luz found her ass getting beat. It had become somewhat of a reoccurring theme recently, and if she was being honest it was starting to piss her off. First, she had been covered in bruises and dislocations from those stupid centipede demons, then the bear had almost killed her, and now she had spent half her day being tossed around like a fucking training dummy.

Now, she was lying on the floor of the underground training room with healing glyphs sat at her side as she continually applied them to various points on her body. To her left sat King, head resting on her stomach so that she wouldn’t suffer in silence. Her body ached and she was covered in bruises, but true to her word once she had finally managed to beat Eda 3 times she had reluctantly lifted her punishment. As soon as she could walk again, she could go outside! Maybe she’d go see what Amity had been up to…

**Amity pov:**

Amity had always been a good girl. She would follow her parent’s orders, do exactly as they asked, always complete her schoolwork and train with Lilith regularly. To do this, Amity had always had a schedule, university and work throughout the week, Saturdays for homework and assignments, and then Sunday, her favourite day of the week, her lazy day, the one day where she wasn’t expected to do anything or go anywhere. It was her day, it always had been, which made her all the more irritated that a certain red-haired witch had decided to barge in on her private time.

She had been halfway through a new book she had purchased when Boscha had just randomly appeared at her bedroom door, she assumed that Ed or Em had been the ones to let her in, and had spent the past half an hour just sat on her bed talking about some guy Skara had started dating. Honestly, she wasn’t listening, she really didn’t care and had instead been trying to lose herself within her book again, though with little success.

_“Like, I don’t know what Skara see’s in him, the jackass had been flirting with some third-year student basically the entire morning right in front of her!”_

_“Mm-hmm”_

_“Anyway, I tried confronting the guy for her and she got all defensive…”_

_“Yup”_

_“…Annnnd then a rogue witch broke through the wall and murdered 6 people…”_

_“Wow, weird”_

_“I KNEW IT! You aren’t even listening to me! I come all the way here to share valuable gossip with you and you just fucking ignore me, what the hell Ames?”_

_“Ok, first off, don’t call me that I hate nicknames, secondly you interrupted my one free day of the week to tell me about Skara’s 800 th fucking partner that’ll be gone by the end of the week anyway, so yes I’m ignoring you”_

At this point Boscha sat up, putting her scroll to the side.

_“Wha- Ok hang on, I thought we’re supposed to be friends, friends are supposed to hang out together right? Well you’ve been busy basically all week, every time I ask to hang out you’re either not home, or too tired, or busy with work. If I hadn’t invited myself over I wouldn’t have seen you all week!”_

Amity flinched a little at that. It wasn’t a lie, she _had_ been busy the past week, though not with things quite as important as she had tried to lead Boscha to believe. In fact, she had been hanging out with Willow almost every day after Uni. They had years to catch up on though, it’s not like she had been deliberately neglecting Boscha, she was just excited to be around someone new for a change!

_“Look, Boscha, I’ve been busy! It’s not like I’m trying to avoid you I just have responsibilities now; I don’t have time to just waste anymore”_

_“So I’m a waste of time now?”_

_“That’s not what I meant Boscha and you know it…”_

_“No, no, it’s fine I get it. Sorry for wanting to hang out, forgot I was a nuisance”_

She sounded hurt which honestly surprised Amity. For the longest time Amity’s indifference to Boscha had never bothered her and that worked well for their kind of friendship, one born out of necessity rather than a mutual desire to be near each other. It had been that way since the day they met, a meeting much like the one they shared now…

_Amity was 8 when she first met Boshca, a meeting she had been anticipating all week. To protect Willow from her parents, she had been forced to push her away, to lose her only friend, and as cold as her parents could be they couldn’t deny that having some friends would likely be beneficial. The condition? They had to be friends that they approved of, and in that regard they had set up a meeting with another influential family on the isles that had a daughter of similar age to herself, the Redford family._

_Now, Amity didn’t know much about that family, to her knowledge they weren’t in weapons development like her fathers company was, but instead ran a private security group that dealt with the protection of a number of influential figures across the isles, and often purchased the equipment from Blight Corp. Their families were close, but she had never met the daughter of the Redfords, she could only hope that she was as kind as Willow, by the titan she needed it._

_When she finally called down to meet them, the first thing she noticed was ‘Hakon Redford’, the head of the family, and just how terrified he made her. He wasn’t doing anything in particular, he had no weapons, dressed in normal though expensive clothes, and yet the moment his gaze fell upon Amity it was almost enough to stop her descending the stairs. It was cold, fierce and pierced through her like a bullet. In his eyes she was dirt, and it was the first time she had feared someone more than her father._

_“Amity, Come, meet Boscha, she is to be your new friend” Her father spoke up just as she reached the bottom of the stairs and motioned for her to come to his side, which she did. Once there, she gave Mr. Redford a polite bow (and hoped she wasn’t visibly shaking) before speaking up herself._

_“Greetings sir, it is my greatest pleasure to meet you” She spoke clearly and with confidence, as she had been schooled to, and yet all the schooling in the world couldn’t stop her heart from beating out of her chest as the man spoke in response._

_“Hmm. Boscha, heel” He spoke with unmatched authority, and she was sure that even the emperor himself would bow to this man should he demand it. His voice was deep, it projected itself with almost no effort and worked its way into every fibre of her being. She was scared, and he had barely even acknowledged her. It was then that Amity finally noticed the young girl behind him who quickly followed her command, shuffling up and standing beside her father. She had fiery red hair, and a third eye planted squarely in her forehead that looked straight at her while the other 2 glanced down._

_“Introduce yourself”_

_“Greetings, my name is Boscha Redford, heir the Redford family” She spoke loudly as if trying to imitate her father with little success, but what bothered Amity the most was the fear inlaid in every word. If anyone else noticed, they didn’t comment, so neither did Amity._

_“Greetings little one, why don’t you and my daughter head to her room and get to know each other, I have business with your father”_

_She nodded and turned to Amity expectantly. With a nod of permission from her own father, Amity led Boscha away and upstairs towards her room, though she stayed quiet the whole way. Once they finally reached her room Boscha made her way inside, sitting down on Amity’s bed and watching her. The moment Amity shut the door; her personality shifted._

_“Ugh, about time you got us away, or do you just enjoy sitting in that mans insufferable presence?”_

_That caught Amity a little off guard, she had been expecting quiet and reserved, not this._

_“Errr, i-I’m sorry? I normally don’t leave until my father dismisses me…”_

_Boscha continued to stare for a moment, but eventually her glare softened as she fell back to lie on the bed._

_“Whatever, doesn’t matter now. So Blight, we’re supposed to be friends right? That’s the whole point of this?”_

_“Yeah, that’s right”_

_“Then let’s set some ground rules. One, I’ll play along with the act, but we aren’t actually friends, understand, this is just to keep my father happy. Two, I’ll introduce you to the other girls I_ am _friends with since my dad told me too. Three, this is to keep our parents happy so, you don’t ever get me in trouble, and I won’t get you in trouble, and together we can finally get ourselves a little bit of freedom! Deal?”_

_Amity stood across from her, silent for a moment as she contemplated the terms. She had hoped that she’d be more… open to friendship, but maybe that would come later? The other terms worked too, she’d get a few more people to talk to, and an excuse to leave the house whenever she liked. This was a deal she could work with._

_“Deal”_

_She walked over to the bed and sat beside her new ‘friend’, and the two of them chatted into the afternoon, learning a little about each other. Neither of the girls knew just how rocky this friendship would end up being though, or the trouble it would cause._

And here Amity found herself sat next to Boscha once again, staring down at the 3-eyed girl as she glared at the ceiling, making a point to ignore Amity.

_“Look, Boscha I’m sorry, I just got distracted that’s all, we’re growing up we’re gonna be busy! Honestly I’m surprised you’re not…”_

_“Who said I’m not? I have just as much work as you do Blight, I just try and make time for people”_

She had no winning response to that, Boscha wasn’t lying and she knew it.

_“I know… thanks”_

Boscha peered up at her from beneath the arm she had slung across her face, her features softening much like they always did. Well, not always, but ever since that one night, Boscha had always been nicer to her, at least when they were alone. That night had completely restructured their entire dynamic, and though she had never said it out loud, it was a night she completely regretted.

It had been a party, one she remembered vividly, a party that Boscha had invited her too after a massive fight with her father. They had been talking about finding her a partner, her father wishing to set her up with the son of a rich family from japan so that he could more easily sell his stock internationally, but a thought that made Amity gag. She hated the thought of not getting to choose her partner, the thought of being forced to spend her life with someone just so her father could make a little more money as if he didn’t have enough already! After confronting him she had ended up crying in her room to Boscha over the phone, and she had in turn invited her to a party that night…

The party was nothing fancy, just a standard college house party with dozens of kids from various schools. It was loud, crowded, messy and all-around unpleasant, at least to Amity, but she didn’t care. She had wanted to hurt her father, as much as possible, and the one way that she thought that possible was to find herself a ‘partner’ right here and now. That night had been one of the longest in her life, and she had drunk excessively to the point she was amazed she didn’t end up with alcohol poisoning. Almost everything that had happened that night had been a blur, even now she almost couldn’t remember a single thing that had happened, save for the end of the night. That she remembered perfectly.

_They were sat on the bed in one of the bedrooms, and she was crying again. About what, she couldn’t remember, but it was probably her father. Boscha was with her, holding her as she bawled about something else stupid. Her entire plan for even coming to this dumb party was to find a partner she could use to get her father off her back, but every guy that had approached her made her physically gag. Nobody stood out to her, none of them worked, even for something as simple as this, even if they would be forgotten about in a few weeks’ time anyway._

_Boscha had stayed with her that night, despite everyone else in their group leaving hours earlier, she had stayed to look after her. She didn’t know why, Boscha had been unusually kind to her recently, their usual back and forth quips becoming more and more one-sided, and now she was sat here at 4am hugging her and trying to stop her crying. Why?_

_“You can go home Boscha…” sniff, “I can call Thomas to come pick me” sniff._

_“And leave you alone in a strangers house while you’re too drunk to walk? No way. I’ll stay till they get here” She pulled her closer, Amity’s head resting on her shoulder now. They sat in silence for a little while._

_“Why can’t he just leave me alone Boscha… I don’t want to marry some random fucking person!”_

_“I know Ames… My dad’s riding my ass too”_

_“Who do they think they are! We should tell them to fuck off”_

_“I think you may of already done that”_

_“Well I’ll do it again… If we kill them we wouldn’t have to marry random people”_

_“True, but there’s probably a better way…”_

_“What other option do we have, I couldn’t find anyone here that I could stand enough to convince my father…”_

_“…Yeah me either”_

_“THEN WHAT’S THE OTHER OPTION BOSCHA… Cause I’m all fucking ears at this point”_

_The slow circles that Boscha had been rubbing on her back came to a stop as she pulled her hand free, bring it around and using it to turn Amity’s face towards her._

_“Me”_

_“…what?”_

_“I’m the other option. I mean, think about it, we have to spend time together anyway right? You can at least put up with me, and it would stop both our parents from harassing us, plus my fathers a close partner of yours to he wouldn’t complain about that either. We’re perfect for each other”_

_“B-but you’re a girl”_

_“So? Your father won’t care considering who my family are”_

_“Wait, hold on, no we can’t-“_

_“Yes we can Amity, it’s the only way to keep us both safe… I promise”_

_Her voice grew soft, and she brought a hand up to Amity’s face, cradling her cheek. Her face was blurry, but she sounded genuine. It would be easier, right? Like fake dating to keep her parents happy, that would work. Was she moving closer?_

_“So we pretend aga-“_

_“No, we can’t pretend, our parents are too clever. We’d have to be serious about it Amity”_

_“I… I don’t know Boscha, I don’t think I want-“_

_“So you’d prefer some loser in japan to me? This doesn’t have to last forever Ames, just a little while…” Her voice was sickly sweet at this point, close enough for Amity to feel her breath. She didn’t want this did she? She didn’t like Boscha like that, she didn’t like Amity like that… but she been so nice recently, did Boscha like her? No, that’s impossible. This is too much to think about, couldn’t she just think about it tomorrow? But what about right now? She couldn’t just push Boscha away, she was doing this for her too right?_

_She didn’t get a chance to think about it more though as before she knew what was happening Boscha was kissing her. It felt wrong, she was uncomfortable, she didn’t like this but… She was too tired to stop it now, at least this would stop her father. The lies she told herself that night were the only other things she remembered._

That night had been the night that her Boscha officially started dating and had been many of Amity’s first too. It worked, for a time, both their families seemed content to leave them be with their little relationship, and that was enough reason to keep it going in Amity’s eyes, for a little while anyway. She had known that this little relationship wouldn’t last, but what she hadn’t expected was just how quickly Boshca could make her regret ever saying yes.

You see, Boscha had been raised by her father, and though she certainly differed from him in many aspects his influence was still there. Dating her made that scarily obvious. It wasn’t too noticeable at first, sure, it never is, things like making Amity guilty for hanging out with other people, wanting to know where she was all the time. Then it got worse, Boscha got worse… they had barely been dating 2 months but in that time she started to treat Amity like she had when they first met, like it was her job to keep Boscha happy. She would get pushy, aggressive even, she quickly stopped letting her hang out with Skara and the others too. It was almost impressive how quickly her personality shifted really, and if it hadn’t been for Skara, Ed and Em she might have ended up staying with Boscha for longer. Eventually with their support, Amity broke up with Boscha, and for a while they didn’t speak. But the thing about friends is that eventually you’ll have to see each other again, and this was no different. They ended up talking and decided to stay as friends. Boscha had apologised for the way she treated her during that time, and it seemed their parents had lost interest too, for better or for worse that plan had worked, at least for Amity. For Boscha though? Well, Amity had a sneaking suspicion that Boscha had never intended to break up, but she had no proof of that, and Boscha had never made another move on her like that since.

Boscha sat up, pulling Amity from her thoughts.

_“Ya know, I heard your dad was trying to set you up with people again…”_

Ahhhh fuck.

_“Yeah, well, it’s not like before, he’s just trying to push me towards it that’s all, its not bothering me”_

_“Oh, well err, that’s good”_

_“…”_

_“…”_

_“Y-ya know, if it did start to bother you then-“_

_“Ok, I’m gonna stop you right there Boscha cause I get the feeling I know where you’re going with this…”_ She stood up and moved away from the witch, taking a seat at her desk.

_“…We not going to start dating again”_

_“Wait, I wasn’t- I mean, I didn’t- ”_

_“Yes, you did. You had that chance, I gave it to you and you fucked it up so find someone else. Besides, you’re only bringing this up cause of Willow right?”_

_“HUH? Ok, ok, hold the fucking phone there Blight, what’s half-a-witch got to do with this?”_

_“Oh please, I saw you staring at her at Uni the other day, I know you got a thing for muscles too, you always kept trying to drag me to gym remember?”_

Her face went red as she struggled to reply, stuttering and mumbling before standing up and glaring at Amity.

_“I have no fucking feelings towards that failure gutter trash of witch, understand me Blight”_

Her voice was laced with venom, and if anyone else had claimed that she probably would have tried to kill them. But she wouldn’t hurt Amity, she wouldn’t dare.

_“Uh huh, sure ya don’t Strawbs” it was fun pushing Boschas buttons when she couldn’t retaliate._

_“NO. I. DON’T”_

She stamped her foot before striding over to her door.

_“You know what, fuck it, sit here and be miserable for all I care, I’m gonna go see if Skara’s free”_

Amity said nothing in response, instead just watching the red-head storm out of her room with a cocky smile plastered across her face. It didn’t last long though, as once the door was slammed shut she was left to realise that while she may of avoided it this time, it was clear that Boscha had finally decided to try and get back with her, and that meant she was probably going to have to stop talking to her. The thought of losing Skara and the others hurt, but she wasn’t going to let Boscha take advantage of her again, and besides, she had new friends now that Boscha didn’t even know about and just imagining her face when she finds out was enough to bring her smile back.

She didn’t hate Boscha, for all her problems she was still a good friend, but Amity had to put herself first, and if Boscha was going to start making moves on her again after all this time to distract herself from the crush on Willow she was clearly developing then Amity couldn’t stay with them anymore. She felt bad, but she knew this was coming and had already prepared herself, the real question was how she went about cutting contact… a problem for another day, Boscha had brought up another issue she now had to consider.

Her father was starting to push her again, and she knew that she was going have to do something to get him off her back. He didn’t particularly care who she dated as long as they weren’t a criminal, so it’s not like she was short of choices. She just had to find someone she liked, and someone that liked her, wasn’t a criminal, and wouldn’t treat her like crap. That was easy right?

A buzz from her desk drew her attention, a message from Willow asking if she wanted to hang out tomorrow. Well, she had told Boscha they would spend tomorrow together, but given her angry tantrum as she stormed out 5 minutes ago, she figured she was probably free. She shot Willow a thumbs-up emoji to confirm and set her scroll down on the table. She had plans for tomorrow now at least, the question was what she did for the rest of today. She didn’t particularly feel like finishing her book now that Boscha had pulled her out of it, and Willow wasn’t really much for conversation over text either, Skara would be with Boscha soon and she didn’t really talk to Cat that much herself. That left her with one option, Luz, and that was an option she was more than happy to take as she picked up her phone and opened her messages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom, so this was mostly filler as mentioned above, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. From here we'll be heading into the second Arc I had planned for this story.


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